Mali’s transitional president, General Assimi Goïta, inaugurated the country’s second lithium mine on Monday, November 3, 2025, in Bougouni, southern Mali.
Operated by Les Mines de Lithium de Bougouni SA (LMLB SA) — a joint venture between the Malian government, the British company Kodal Mining UK Ltd, and China’s Hainan Mining Co. Ltd, a subsidiary of the Fosun International conglomerate — the new mine marks a major step in Mali’s drive to turn its mineral wealth into a pillar of economic sovereignty.
The initial investment for the project’s first phase is estimated at $65 million (about CFA 36 billion), with an annual production capacity of 120,000 tons of spodumene concentrate, a key component used in electric vehicle batteries.
Under the 2023 mining code, the Malian state holds a 35% stake in the venture, while Kodal Mining and Hainan Mining share the remaining capital. Located about 180 km south of Bamako, the Bougouni site lies within a strategic mining corridor that already hosts the Goulamina lithium mine, commissioned in 2024.
During the inauguration ceremony, President Goïta stressed the importance of transforming Mali’s natural resources into drivers of industrial and social development.
For his part, Minister of Mines Amadou Keïta noted that the sector, now governed by the new Mining Code, is undergoing thorough reform. He revealed that 121 mining titles, including 100 exploration permits, have been revoked to curb speculative practices and strengthen state oversight of the national mining registry.
According to Kodal Mining, the Bougouni mine has already created around 500 local jobs, with an additional 800 positions expected during the second project phase, slated to begin in 2028.
The mine’s financial contribution to the national economy is estimated at $380 million over its lifetime, while CFA 24 billion has already been injected into the local economy, including CFA 317 million devoted to social and community initiatives.
Teng David Lei, CEO of Hainan Mining, hailed the project as reflecting a “shared vision between Mali, China, and the United Kingdom,” emphasising Bougouni’s strategic role in global energy transition supply chains.
Bernard Aylward, Chairman of Kodal Mining, highlighted that Bougouni represents the first majority British-led lithium project in Mali, developed in full compliance with international standards on safety, environmental protection, and fiscal transparency.
With the combined output of the Goulamina and Bougouni sites, Mali is expected to reach a total production capacity of 590,000 tons of lithium concentrate by 2026, positioning the country as Africa’s leading producer and an emerging global player in the field of strategic minerals.
The government sees these projects as a catalyst for economic diversification, a tool to boost local content, and a means to reduce reliance on gold exports.
The new infrastructure also establishes Bougouni as a new industrial and energy growth hub. Authorities have stated that mining revenues will be reinvested in local development funds, energy infrastructure, and initiatives to improve living conditions in surrounding communities.
For Mali, the Bougouni lithium project symbolises both a major economic opportunity and an assertion of sovereignty over its natural resources, at a time when the world is racing to secure the minerals vital to the global energy transition.
MD/te/sf/lb/as/APA