Leo Lithium Shares Tumble After Mali Suspends Ore Exports

By Emmanuel Tumanjong

Special to Dow Jones Newswires

Leo Lithium shares plunged by 50% on Monday after the miner said Mali's government had suspended lithium ore export operations from its Goulamina mine.

The Australia-listed company said it has submitted information to the government explaining its ore-export operations but that no formal response has been received. As a result, Leo Lithium has scrapped its guidance on 2023 and 2024 direct shipped ore production and sales, it said.

The company said a joint venture construction and mining plan at Goulamina with Ganfeng, China's biggest lithium producer, won't halt.

"Obviously, a lot has changed with Leo Lithium over the last few weeks. We've continued to push the project ahead on schedule," said Simon Hay, the managing director and CEO of Leo Lithium.

"We've got great support from Ganfeng with the co-operation agreement and this subsequent equity investment into the asset," Mr. Hay added.

In recent months, Mali adopted a new mining code, which allows the government to increase its stake in resource projects to 20%, meaning the country's shares in the project will double, Leo Lithium said.

Meanwhile, Leo Lithium said it has sold 5% of the Goulamina joint venture to Ganfeng for $137 million, meaning the Chinese firm now owns a 55% share in the asset.

Write to Barcelona Editors at barcelonaeditors@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 04, 2023 11:52 ET (15:52 GMT)

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