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ADU PReVIeW

Roaring start for Leo Lithium

ewly-listed developer Leo Lithium Ltd Goulamina is being developed in partner- the converter is built.”
Nreceived the best possible news after fi- ship with leading Chinese producer Jiangxi Leo recently appointed Joe Belladonna,
nally hitting the boards in late June, with West Ganfeng Lithium Co Ltd. Leo is fully funded formerly of nickel market darling Western Ar-
African bloc ECOWAS lifting economic and for the Stage 1 construction having also re- eas, as chief financial officer, Tom Blackwell
financial sanctions against Mali’s military gov- cently finalised a $US40 million debt facility as project director, Marc Rowley as general
ernment. with its 50:50 JV partner. manager development and Bolaji Okubajo as
The sanctions were imposed on the The Goulamina JV now boasts a debt and project manager, based in Mali. The company
country in January after military leaders an- equity package of $US170 million to build is also looking to add a chief operating officer
nounced democratic elections would be de- what will be West Africa’s first hard rock lith- and general manager technical services to its
layed until 2026, with Mali effectively prohib- ium mine. management team before the end of the year.
ited from trading any goods except for food, “Ganfeng brings so much to the table,” Hay Hay expects the company will create about
fuel and medicine. said. “They’re great to work with, their local 1,200 jobs during the construction phase,
team are very knowledgeable predominantly all from the local region around
in the lithium industry, they’ve Goulamina. To date, about 60 unskilled work-
added a lot of value to the ers have been employed from the surround-
flowsheet, they give us a lot ing hosted communities in a further boost for
of their thoughts on how we both the resources sector and general econ-
should process the material. omy in Mali.
They’ve now moved to 100% “The Government is very keen to diversify
offtake for Stage 1 with the away from just gold, they have a well-estab-
provision of this $US40 mil- lished and mature gold industry as we all
lion debt facility that we’ve just know, but this is another string to add to their
completed.” bow in the mining industry,” Hay said.
Leo reports all development “Of course, it will be a great revenue spin-
works at Goulamina are pro- ner for the country and for the Government in
gressing in line with schedule terms of the taxes and royalties that we will
and budget. Key activities cur- pay, but the economic benefits are also sig-
rently under way include the nificant. We’ll have about 1,200 employees in
installation of the drillers and the construction phase and around half that in
pioneer camp and the up- the operational phase. We will certainly look
Drilling continues at Goulamina with a new resource and
reserve update expected over the coming months grade of the site access road. to train and employ locals; we see that as fan-
Detailed plant design re- tastic for the country.
mains ongoing while long- “For Leo Lithium, this asset is so good. It’s
ECOWAS last month agreed to immediate- lead items such as ball mill,
ly lift the sanctions following the Malian Gov- jaw and cone crushers are
ernment’s commitment to holding elections in being procured with the assis-
February 2024. tance of Ganfeng.
Speaking on Paydirt TV last month, Leo Hay said his company was
managing director Simon Hay welcomed the also starting to see the bene-
proposed return to democratic rule in Mali, fits of Ganfeng’s procurement
especially with the company ramping up network in China.
construction works at its Goulamina lithium “We’ve got a number of our
project. tender packages going out to
“I have to point out that the sanctions have suppliers in China, and with
not had an impact on the project at all, but Ganfeng’s assistance, these
the lifting of the sanctions enables us to get are coming back very com-
equipment into site when we need to using petitively in terms of price,
our preferred transport routes, so it will make but also in terms of timeframe
things a lot easier in the future,” Hay said. and schedule, which is super
“Also, I think it’s just great for the economy important for this project,” he
in Mali. It should ease constraints on getting said. Leo managing director Simon Hay (left) and Mali Minister of
equipment into the country in general and “Ganfeng have also just Mines HE Lamine Traore at the official opening ceremony for
the Government itself [being] free and able to started building their dedicat- the Goulamina site works
communicate with other sectors.” ed converter which will take
Leo debuted on the ASX via an oversub- Goulamina spodumene concentrate and such a large-scale high-grade spodumene
scribed $100 million IPO on June 23, al- process that through to battery-grade lithium deposit, we expect it will generate fantastic
most 12 months to the day after gold miner hydroxide. This converter has been acceler- financial returns over its life of mine. This is
Firefinch Ltd made the decision to spin-out ated, it’s been brought forward six months, so a company-making asset. It’s the start of Leo
Goulamina – one of the world’s largest un- it provides our project team a real target; if we Lithium, we’re really in a great spot right at the
developed hard rock lithium projects – into a can bring our project on early, the spodumene moment.”
separately listed vehicle. concentrate will have a home in China when
– Michael Washbourne

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