Ganfeng announced it will acquire the remaining 40% stake in the Goulamina project in Mali from Leo Lithium. 

Ganfeng will acquire the remaining 40% stake held by Leo Lithium in the Goulamina lithium project in Mali for a total fee of US$342.7M. Leo Lithium reported that the sale of the 40% stake in the project was a result of increasingly challenging sovereign and security risks at the project and the impact of adopting the 2023 Malian Mining Code to the company’s financial position. The sale of the 405 stake in Goulamina will be structured in three stages, the first a US$10.5M non-refundable deposit, followed by an initial tranche of US$161M. a final US$171.2M tranche will be payable by 30^th June 2025.

The two companies had previously operated a joint venture to develop the Goulamina project, with Ganfeng finalising a 5% acquisition in the project first announced in January 2024 for US$98M. Ganfeng has been building a significant portfolio of lithium operations globally, including 50% ownership of the Mount Marion mine in Australia, ownership of the Sonora lithium clay project in Mexico, and ownership of the Mariana, Incahuasi, and Pozuelos-Pastos Grandes lithium brine operations in Argentina. Combined production capacity at these operations exceeds 75ktpy LCE, which Ganfeng supplements with significant offtake agreements with suppliers such as Pilbara Minerals, Core Lithium     

In addition, Leo Lithium has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Mali government to resolve all outstanding issues and migrate the Goulamina project to the new 2023 Malian Mining Code. In exchange, Leo Lithium will provide a US$60M settlement to the Malian Government.