Kodal Minerals signs Ghana lithium earn‑in for up to 80% stake
The first stage requires US$1.25 million in spending and payments over six months to lift its interest to 30 per cent.
Mara Quinlan
Kodal Minerals plc LONKOD said on Monday it has signed a binding agreement to earn up to 80 per cent of Ghana's Asamankese lithium project. It has acquired an initial 10 per cent interest for US$300,000, adding a 156-square-kilometre exploration project alongside its Bougouni operation in Mali.
Shares were higher at 0.30 pence on London's AIM at 11 a.m. BST on Monday, according to the exchange's delayed data.
The agreement announced on Monday requires a combined US$1.25 million in exploration spending and a completion payment during its first six months, taking Kodal's interest to 30 per cent.
Kodal can choose whether to advance through each subsequent stage and may stop spending while retaining the interest earned. Initial diamond drilling is planned before the end of 2026.
Monday's announcement says the initial consideration includes US$50,000 paid for six months of exclusivity, during which Kodal conducted field, technical and legal due diligence. The stake is held through a Ghanaian subsidiary in a new joint venture with GH Geo-Consult Limited.
GH Geo-Consult initially holds the remaining 90 per cent. The agreement says it will apply to the Minerals Commission of Ghana to transfer the Asamankese prospecting licence to the joint venture.
The second stage of Monday's agreement runs for 24 months and requires expenditure and a completion payment totalling US$4 million, plus an initial mineral resource estimate. Completing that stage would lift Kodal's interest to 60 per cent.
The final stage requires expenditure and a completion payment totalling US$7.5 million under Monday's agreement, together with a definitive feasibility study. Kodal would then hold 80 per cent, with GH Geo-Consult retaining 20 per cent.
"At this stage, our focus is on a systematic exploration programme, with subsequent work and investment guided by the results," chief executive Bernard Aylward said in Monday's announcement.
Kodal's initial rock-chip sampling, reported on Monday, returned up to 2.49 per cent lithium oxide. Of the 164 samples, 95 exceeded 1 per cent. The announcement identifies Amantra and Nfranta as immediate exploration prospects, based on mapped pegmatite systems.
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Kodal holds an approximate 32 per cent economic interest in Bougouni. Its Oct. 13 quarterly update reported a weighted SC6 reference price of US$2,330 per dry metric tonne for the fourth shipment, with the actual price adjusted for grade, insurance and freight.
In Ghana, Atlantic Lithium Limited ASXA11 LONALL is advancing Ewoyaa, whose mining lease was ratified by Parliament in March 2026, according to its project page.
Kodal plans to start Asamankese's initial diamond drilling before the end of 2026.
