As Mali’s flagship Bougouni lithium project gears up for its first exports, the mine’s diesel power plant is being put to work
In January, London-listed developer Kodal Minerals announced that the thermal power generation facility was now operational, paving the way for commissioning of the stage 1 Dense Media Separation (DMS) processing plant.
The project is being heavily funded by Hainan Mining, a subsidiary of Chinese investment conglomerate, Fosun International, which is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
The power plant itself is 100% diesel, with the mine site operations drawing around 3MW continuous power from six 1000kW, Cummins KTA50-G3 installed units.
In the company’s annual report for the year ended 31 March 2024, Kodal Minerals stated that with the absence of reticulated power in the Bougouni region, a 5MW diesel power plant was procured from Jiangsu Fukangsi in China, comprising Cummins engines.
“The power solution will include in its design the installation of complementary solar power, however due to the short time frame for project construction the solar circuit will be deferred into the future; likely after 12 months of operation,” the report notes.
The generators arrived on site in southern Mali in mid-December 2024, with the project team moving swiftly to complete the installation, cabling and testing of the equipment to achieve first power by late January 2025.
At the time, Bernard Aylward, CEO of Kodal Minerals, commended his site team, noting that they had “performed fantastically to successfully finish the installation of the power generation plant and achieve the important ‘Power-On’ milestone at Bougouni.”
He added that piping and electrical cabling continued to advance, ahead the commissioning of the DMS processing plant.
In the company’s most recent update, on 30 June, Kodal Minerals announced that an off-take agreement for the spodumene concentrate produced by the stage 1 DMS plant had been signed between its local subsidiary, Les Mines de Lithium de Bougouni, and Hainan Mining, the exclusive buyer for a period of four years.
Aylward also added that discussions with the Mali government to secure the export permit for the spodumene concentrate were continuing.
The export of the spodumene, an important source of lithium, will take place via the Port of Abidjan in Côte d'Ivoire, before final export on to China.
Read more:
Cooper LPG gensets bound for Africa market
Diesel power plant put to work at Kodal’s Bougouni lithium mine
Powering Mali's mining industry forward
