Kodal Minerals PLC is a mining development and exploration company active in West Africa.

The company's flagship project is the advanced Bougouni Lithium Project in southern Mali.

Kodal also has a range of gold exploration projects in Mali and Cote d'Ivoire.

Kodal Minerals PLC (AIM:KOD) improved 9% as the junior reiterated the Bougouni lithium project is on schedule for initial production in the fourth quarter of this year.

Capital costs are also expected to come in on budget at around US$65 million, with initial production set for 125,000 tonnes a year.

"The development of the Bougouni project is advancing as planned, both off-site and on-site, ahead of first production scheduled for the end of calendar 2024,”?chief executive Bernard Aylward said.

“Securing a port-to-port direct cargo ship is a major benefit to delivering our flagship Project on time as it will significantly reduce the transport time to around 21 days."

Kodal Minerals PLC (AIM:KOD) told investors that the construction of the Phase 1 Dense Media Separation (DMS) processing plant and crushing circuit?at the Bougouni lithium project?is progressing on schedule.

The project, located in Southern Mali, is fully-funded following the completion of the US$117.5 million Hainan transaction (announced in November), and, it is on track for first production in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Kodal Minerals has tweaked the terms agreed to terminate the right of first refusal (ROFR) granted to Suay Chin over 80% of the spodumene product produced at the Bougouni lithium project in?Southern Mali.

Suay Chin's agreed termination fee of?US$14 million payable?by Kodal Mining UK, the Bougouni company 51% owned by Hainan Mining, will now be paid in three instalments, rather than two.

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The process is akin to a medical ultrasound, but on a planetary scale, with low-frequency sound waves as the diagnostic tool probing the Earth's geological layers. With advancements in 3-D seismic technology, this method has become the cartography of subterranean treasure maps, revealing the contours and pockets of potential oil and gas reserves with remarkable clarity.

Kodal Minerals CEO Bernard Aylward joined Steve Darling from Proactive to provide an update on the project development activities at the Bougouni Lithium Project in Southern Mali. The project is fully funded following the completion of a $117.5 million funding transaction. The company reports that the manufacture of the DMS processing plant and crushing circuit is progressing as scheduled, with equipment shipping from China to West Africa expected to begin in early June.

Initial shipping of structural steelwork to the project site is also anticipated in June. Aylward mentioned that a consortium of mining contractors has been mobilized to Bougouni, with site clearing completed ahead of plant construction, which is due to commence in early June. Civil construction contracts have been awarded and are set to start in early June. Additionally, resource definition and extension drilling are continuing at the project's Boumou prospect, located within the granted mining license. Geological logging of the drill holes indicates continuity of the pegmatite bodies over a strike length of 970 meters. All assay results for the drilling are pending, with 2,128 samples awaiting testing by ALS Global laboratories. The first production of the Bougouni Stage 1 DMS, with a total output of 125,000 tonnes per annum, is on schedule for Q4 2024 and remains within the capital expenditure guidance of $65 million.