The export of lithium from Bougouni to Hainan Mining marks a major milestone for Mali in the global market for strategic minerals.
On December 1, 2025, the first shipment from the Bougouni mine was loaded at the port of San Pedro (Côte d’Ivoire). This shipment marks Mali’s effective entry into the international lithium trade.
The ship left the Ivorian port with 28,950 tonnes of spodumene concentrate, destined for Hainan Mining (China) the project’s industrial partner.
The value of this shipment is approximately $24 million, an amount that reflects the quality of the product, which has a Li₂O content of around 5.39 percent, according to results published by the operator.
This shipment follows the transport, at the end of October, of more than 30,000 tonnes of concentrate from Bougouni to San Pedro to establish the initial stockpile.
This marks the start of production at the mine, operated by a joint venture between Kodal Minerals, Hainan Mining, and the Malian government, which had been preparing the ramp-up of the DMS plant for several months.
Bougouni thus becomes the second commercial lithium mine in operation in Mali, alongside Goulamina. The operator estimates the annual capacity at around 125,000 tons of concentrate, a volume that already places the site among the country’s key infrastructure projects.
Exports via Côte d’Ivoire also confirm the growing importance of the mining corridor linking southern Mali to the port of San Pedro, now essential for the transit of strategic minerals.
For both the authorities and local communities, this first shipment is more than just a commercial transaction.
It symbolises the realisation of a project closely monitored since the initial exploration phases and offers hope for long-term economic benefits in a sector poised to grow in importance in the coming years.
The success of this expedition opens a new phase, where future production capacities and the place that Mali intends to occupy in a rapidly changing global market will be determined.
MD/ac/fss/as/APA