Firefinch Limited (Mali Lithium)
Firefinch Limited (Mali Lithium)
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Five members of the Malian gendarmerie have been killed and another four injured in an attack by al Qaeda-linked militants on a convoy delivering equipment to Australian-based company Firefinch’s Morila gold mine in the country’s south.
New partners Firefinch and Jiangxi Ganfeng Lithium will continue to work towards a final investment decision in the Dec qtr on what could become West Africa’s first lithium producer at the Goulamina project in Mali.
Shareholders in Ganfeng, the world’s largest lithium producer, have approved the acquisition of a 50% stake in the world-class mine and support debt funding to fast-track the project’s development.
Mali’s Morila mine, once one of the world’s highest grade gold producers for majors Barrick Gold and AngloGold Ashanti, has passed a significant operation milestone with the successful first production blast for new owner Firefinch by contractor EGTF.
Record monthly production in June has enabled Firefinch to post June qtr (Q2) output of 12,550oz gold at its 80%-owned Morila mine in Mali, the best result since it acquired the former Barrick Gold-AngloGold Ashanti project in late 2020.
The result, following the start of ROM ore processing in May, has come in towards the upper end of its 11,000-13,000oz guidance and compares with 9,970oz from the reprocessing of tailings in the March qtr.
Western Australia-based Firefinch has launched a $A46.9M share placement primarily to become a 200,000oz gold producer from its 80%-owned Morila Gold Mine in Mali by 2024 and finalise completion of the J/V transaction with the world’s largest lithium producer, China’s Ganfeng, to develop the Goulamina lithium project, also in Mali.
The Morila gold mine has produced 7.5Moz of gold since 2000.
Western Australia-based Firefinch has signed a binding term sheet with the world’s largest lithium producer by production capacity, Ganfeng, for the Chinese company to buy 50% of the world-class Goulamina Lithium Project in Mali for $US130M.
Under the 50:50 JV, Ganfeng will also arrange up to $64M of debt funding to fast track the project, with the overall transaction expected to substantially fund Goulamina’s capital cost to production.
Australian miner Firefinch’s 80%-owned Morila Gold Mine in Mali has awarded a $US360M open pit mining contract to a J/V comprising international mining contractors Mota-Engil and Malian-owned/operated Inter Mining Services (IMS).
The return to openpit mining at the Morila gold mine in Mali is running ahead of plan for 80% owner Firefinch, with about 100,000t of ore extracted to date from Pit 5 for haulage to ROM stockpiles ready for commissioning its refurbished plant comminution circuit starting this month.
Malian contractor EGTF mobilised its new 100t-class fleet for the preparatory works and start of mining and haulage at Pit 5, on the western margin of the Morila Super Pit.
Australian-based Firefinch has outlined higher production for longer in a new life of mine plan for the Morila gold project in western Mali that it acquired as a worked-out deposit from majors Barrick Gold and AngloGold Ashanti for $US29M six months ago.
New Mali producer Firefinch has established additional feed sources that will support the restart of Superpit mining at its 80%-owned Morila project, boosting satellite resources by 80% to 218,000oz contained gold.
The increase comes from intensive drilling that produced maiden resource estimates for the N’Tiola, Viper, Morila Pit 5 and Koting satellite deposits.
Morila’s global resource has now risen to 2.43Moz (50.5Mt @ 1.5g/t), of which 1.31Moz (28.4Mt @ 1.43g/t) is categorised as measured or indicated.