Kodal Minerals (AIM: KOD) has completed its first shipment of spodumene concentrate from the Bougouni lithium project in southern Mali to offtake partner Hainan Mining Co. in China, marking the company’s first revenue-generating export from the site.

Im a press release, Kodal announces that the cargo of 28,950 tonnes departed from the Port of San Pedro in Ivory Coast after being stockpiled over several weeks. Kodal said its Malian subsidiary, Les Mines de Lithium de Bougouni (LMLB), expects to receive about $24mn after submitting an invoice for 95% of the shipment’s value.

The export follows the overland transport of more than 30,000 tonnes of concentrate along an 880km route from the Bougouni mine to San Pedro. According to the company, the full 45,000-tonne stockpile produced by its dense media separation plant will be shipped in stages.

The first-phase processing facility, which began operating in February, sources ore from the Ngoualana deposit and is designed to produce 125,000 tonnes per year. A second-stage flotation plant will expand capacity using ore from Boumou and Sogola-Baoulé.

Kodal said it expects to achieve prices above $930 per dry metric tonne, with the final price to be determined by product grade and shipping costs. CEO Bernard Aylward said recent improvements in global lithium prices would support higher revenue from the initial shipment.

“The significant improvement in the lithium pricing environment in recent weeks will be reflected in the sale price for our spodumene concentrate as per the terms of the Offtake Agreement,” he said.

Operations at Bougouni have continued despite political instability and increased militant activity in parts of Mali. The mine is the country’s second operational lithium project. Kodal holds 49% of the operating entity through a joint venture with Hainan, which owns 51%, while the Malian state retains a 35% interest in LMLB.