KODAL Minerals has entered Ghana’s lithium industry, taking an initial stake in the Asamankese exploration project as it expands beyond Mali.
The deal offers a route to majority ownership, but Asamankese is still at an early stage. Drilling must establish whether its lithium can be mined profitably.
In an October 19 regulatory announcement, Kodal said it had signed a binding agreement with Ghanaian company GH Geo-Consult Limited covering the Asamankese Lithium Project in the Eastern Region.
Kodal paid $300,000, including an earlier $50,000 exclusivity payment, for 10 percent ownership. It can increase that stake to 80 percent over five years.
The first stage requires a combined $1.25m in exploration spending and payments over six months, taking its stake to 30 percent. A further $4m commitment and an initial mineral resource estimate would increase ownership to 60 percent.
A final $7.5m commitment and definitive feasibility study could lift Kodal’s holding to 80 percent, leaving its partner with 20 percent.
Those later stages are optional. The companies have formed Asamankese Lithium Ghana Limited, and an application to transfer the prospecting licence to the venture is still to be submitted.
Early samples point to lithium potential
The 156-square-kilometre Asamankese concession lies about 75 kilometres by road from Accra. Kodal has identified two priority exploration areas, Amantra and Nfranta, where lithium-bearing rock formations are visible at the surface.
Laboratory testing of 164 rock-chip samples returned lithium oxide grades of up to 2.49 percent, with 95 samples exceeding 1 percent. Earlier work by other explorers recorded grades as high as 3.02 percent.
Encouraging as these results are, surface samples cannot establish the size or commercial viability of a deposit.
Kodal has appointed a local drilling contractor and aims to begin its first diamond drilling programme before the end of 2026.
Mali experience shapes Ghana plans
Ghana offers Kodal a chance to apply lessons from the Bougouni lithium operation in southern Mali, where it holds an indirect economic interest through a partnership with China’s Hainan Mining.
Chief executive Bernard Aylward said Bougouni had given Kodal valuable regional experience, but further investment would depend on exploration results.
Kodal has appointed Abdul-Razak Shaih Ballah as country manager in Ghana and is bringing in geologists who previously worked on the Ewoyaa lithium project.
Ghana’s lithium ambitions face a bigger test
The investment comes as Ghana tries to build a lithium industry alongside its established gold sector. In March, Parliament ratified the mining lease for Atlantic Lithium’s Ewoyaa project, bringing the country’s most advanced lithium development closer to an investment decision.
Local capital is also entering the sector. Ghanaian pension funds committed up to $11m to Atlantic Lithium through a financing arrangement announced earlier this year.
Meanwhile, China’s Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt has proposed a $210m acquisition of Atlantic Lithium, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals. The move reflects growing Chinese interest in Africa’s lithium resources.
But Ghana also faces questions about what communities and the state will gain. The debate over lithium mining terms has exposed tensions between attracting investors and securing a fair share of future revenues.
Under Ghana’s lithium royalty framework, rates rise from 5 to 12 percent as spodumene prices increase.
Drilling will determine what comes next
Asamankese gives Kodal a promising new opportunity, not yet a confirmed mine. Its first drilling results will help determine whether the company commits more money and advances towards a formal resource estimate.
For Ghana, the challenge is turning exploration interest into viable mines, jobs and lasting economic benefits.
Credit: Africabreifing
