Leo Lithium Limited announced key logistical milestones for the Goulamina Lithium Project in Mali.
The Goulamina Lithium Project is a joint venture between Leo Lithium and Ganfeng Lithium Group Co., Ltd (Goulamina JV).
According to Leo Lithium, much progress has been achieved in determining the appropriate materials handling systems for delivering both direct ship ore (DSO) and spodumene concentrate to ports in Côte d’Ivoire.
Inspections and discussions have validated San Pedro Port in the west of Côte d’Ivoire’s readiness to serve as a secondary port, with Leo Lithium’s senior executives driving the entire route from the mine site to the port in late March.
The trip showed that the road connection between the site and the port was of high quality and appropriate for delivering bulk materials at the required rate. The improved road conditions, together with the efficient border crossing at Niougoni, suggest that the cycle time for the round trip from site to port and return could be reduced from the six days envisaged in the Definitive Feasibility Study. This will be investigated with the first DSO shipments.
Also, the planned trucks’ nominal payloads have grown by 32% to 50 tonnes, up from 38 tonnes in the Definitive Feasibility Study. The increased payload, along with better-than-expected road conditions, will reduce the absolute number of trucks necessary while potentially increasing cost efficiencies.
As a result, commercial discussions have begun with the Port of San Pedro over a suggested solution for DSO and spodumene concentrate storage and ship loading.
Leo Lithium said they would continue proactively examining other prospective port choices, with Dakar, Senegal, being considered once a resolution with San Pedro has been reached.
Tenders have been published and confirmed for five West African trucking contractors to transport DSO material from the site to the ports of Abidjan and San Pedro. The tenders will be reviewed by the end of April, with all contractors able to deliver DSO material to the port by Q3 of CY2023.
Leo Lithium is scheduled to use various trucking companies and ports for DSO shipments prior to concentrate shipments in 2024.
Tenders for concentrate transport are planned to be issued in Q3 CY2023, with learnings from DSO shipments and ongoing assessments of storage systems, including containerised solutions, incorporated.
“With the trucking routes extensively assessed a port provider secured, we have further de-risked the development of the DSO opportunity as well as first concentrate production from Goulamina in 2024 and I look forward to updating the market on further details around our proposed DSO operations in the coming months,” Leo Lithium Managing Director Simon Hay said.
Hay added, “The San Pedro and Abidjan ports are both well-run operations, with the potential for backload at both options set to deliver enhanced cost efficiencies and give us substantial flexibility in our haulage operations. Pleasingly, we have received significant interest from numerous capable and established trucking contractors for the trucking tender and we expect to finalise the trucking contract in the near-term.”
