Corica Mali has been awarded a $505 million open pit mining services contract at the Goulamina lithium project.
The project comprises a land holding of 100 square kilometres in the Bougouni region of southern Mali. It is a 50/50 joint venture between Leo Lithium and Ganfeng Lithium.
The contract was awarded to Corica Mali following a competitive tender process and extensive due diligence based on factors such as safety, experience, capability, equipment availability and cost.
The contract encompasses six months of pre-production activities at Goulamina, followed by a fixed five-year term, and its scope comprises of grade control, drill and blast, load and haul, and plant ore feed services.
The planned material movement target is between 18–20 million tonnes per annum over the contract’s term.
Corica Mali has already mobilised to site under an early works contract and is currently undertaking the pre-strip and direct shipped ore (DSO) mining and crushing services, right as Goulamina produced its first DSO in late June.
Leo Lithium managing director Simon Hay said the company is happy to be appointing Corica Mali as Goulamina’s mining services contractor.
“Corica has a long history and strong presence in Mali and will bring substantial local employment and supplier opportunities to the region,” Hay said.
“With the mining contractor now in place, Leo Lithium has taken another major step towards realising its target of first spodumene concentrate production in the first half of 2024 (H1 2024). We look forward to working with Corica over the long term, commencing with DSO activities this quarter.”