For almost US$343 million, Ganfeng Lithium would obtain Leo Lithium’s 40% stake in Mali Litihum.
Australia’s Leo Lithium said Mali’s government conditionally approved the sale of its remaining 40% stake in Mali Lithium to China’s Ganfeng Lithium for nearly $343 million.
The company also said it had obtained two pending permits for its Goulamina lithium project, which it owned through Mali Lithium.
Leo Lithium highlighted the importance of one of the permits: the Goulamina energy self-generation license. This approval, the West Perth-based company said, authorizes on-site power generation for 20 years, facilitating the transition from smaller temporary power units to a single large-scale power station, in time for the operational and decommissioning phases. start-up of the project.
Leo Lithium decided to sell its stake in the project in May, after failing to reach a “viable agreement” with the military-led government over ownership of the project.
A new mining code in the West African nation, adopted in 2023, was expected to increase the government’s potential ownership in the Goulamina project from 20% to 30%, with an additional 5% stake likely to be allocated to a local entity.
Leo Lithium reiterated that the risks of operating in Mali, combined with the effects of the new mining code, led to the conclusion that selling the stake would be most beneficial for its shareholders.
“While the preferred outcome would have been for Leo to remain involved in Goulamina, we believe that, in the absence of a viable agreement with the Malian government, this course of action is in the best interests of all stakeholders,” the CEO said. by Leo Lithium, Simon. There is, he said in the statement.
The executive noted that the company and Ganfeng are moving forward with the transfer of project management responsibility and the final documentation is expected to be signed next week.
Leo Lithium will cease any relationship with Goulamina from an operational, management and project perspective no later than November 13, it said.
The Goulamina lithium project in southern Mali is on track to produce its first spodumene in the third quarter of 2024.
