Mali to operate and increase share of new lithium mine to 35%

The military government of Mali has increased its share of Goulamina lithium mine owned by Chinese company Ganfeng Lithium. The new agreement gives Mali operational rights to the mine, entitling the government to conduct exploration, extraction, and processing activities at the mine. Mali’s New Mining Code signed in September 2023 allows the government to acquire up to a 30% share of new mines or newly acquired mines in the country and an additional 5% for local investors. Mining companies operating in Mali must gradually reduce the percentage of foreign employees from 10% to 5% in the first three years of operations before eventually reaching full Malian employment. To add value to the mine locally, Ganfeng Lithium will construct a two-million-ton-per-year spodumene plant that will begin operations by year’s end. As reported by Reuters, Malian Economy Minister Alousseni Sanou says the Malian government should earn between $183 million and $191 million from the mine annually. Goulamina is an open-pit lithium mine with an estimated operational life of 16 years.