On 18 July 2023, the Malian government sent a letter to the Australian group Leo Lithium, which holds the Goulamina lithium mining licence. In its letter, the government demanded that the company first process the lithium before exporting it. Leo Lithium is in the process of building the mine at Goulamina in order to begin operations in July 2024. Leo Lithium plans to export the lithium via the ports of Abidjan and Dakar. But in May 2023, Lamine Seydou Traoré resigned from his post as Minister for Mines. The Minister of Economy and Finance, Alousséni Sanou, was appointed to take over. On 18 July 2023, Alousséni Sanou sent his letter to Leo lithium. According to the acting Minister of Mines, the first washing of raw ore in Mali would allow better control of lithium grades and other associated minerals such as gold. This washing, which is in fact the start of local processing, will help to boost the benefits of this operation for the country.
The Minister of Finance has the support of Malian civil society organisations within the national Publish What You Pay (PWYP) coalition. As a reminder, on 24 March 2023, Abdoul Wahab Diakité, President of the PWYP-Mali Coalition, told a press conference that the general public knew little about the future of lithium mining in Mali. “The latest news is that the extracted lithium ore is to be exported to the port of Côte d’Ivoire. Mali is not currently planning any form of preliminary local processing of the lithium ores extracted at Galamina”, he regretted. He called on the Malian government to publish the Galamina mine transfer contract and its appendices in full, and to make the conclusions of the environmental and social impact studies available to the communities (Bougouni, Galamina) and civil society.
Leo Lithium’s reaction to the letter from the Ministry of Finance was swift. As early as 20 July 2023, it requested a voluntary suspension pending incomplete discussions with the government. The company took this action following the correspondence it received from the government.
As a reminder, Leo Lithium is developing a world-class lithium project at Goulamina in Mali. This project will be the first of its kind in West Africa. The first phases of development are underway and first production is scheduled for the first semester of 2024. Goulamina is a large-scale, high-grade deposit and will be one of the largest spodumene projects in the world.
Elie KABORE
Mines Actu Burkina
