Kodal Minerals, a United Kingdom-based mineral exploration, development, and lithium production company, is expanding its West African lithium portfolio with a deal to acquire up to an 80% stake in Ghana’s Asamankese lithium project, betting that its experience developing assets in Mali can help uncover another source of battery metals.

The London-listed miner is seeking growth beyond its flagship Bougouni lithium mine. The move reflects Kodal’s strategy of concentrating on a region where it has spent nearly two decades building geological knowledge and relationships with local authorities and communities.

Chief Executive Bernard Aylward said the company sees substantial exploration potential in West Africa, where new discoveries could support growing demand for lithium.

Ghana deal extends regional reach

Kodal also holds gold exploration assets in Mali and Ivory Coast, giving it exposure to several mineral opportunities across the region. Its proposed interest in Asamankese would extend that footprint into Ghana, a country better known internationally for gold production but increasingly attracting attention from companies exploring for critical minerals.

Aylward said early exploration results at Asamankese showed similarities to the initial stages of development at Bougouni. The company believes the comparison warrants further investigation, although additional exploration will be needed to establish the project’s scale, geological quality and commercial potential.

“We understand the legislation, we understand how to work with local communities and authorities, and we believe the geological potential is very strong,” Aylward said, explaining why Kodal is prioritizing West Africa over a broader international expansion strategy.

Bougouni provides production base

Kodal’s Bougouni lithium mine in southern Mali, about 180 kilometers south of Bamako, entered production in 2025 through a joint venture with China’s Hainan Mining.

The project gives the company an operating foothold as it pursues additional exploration opportunities and seeks to build a larger regional portfolio of battery metals assets.

The company acquired the Bougouni project in 2016 and accelerated exploration and development work to bring the deposit toward production.

Its experience advancing the Malian asset could provide a technical and operational foundation for assessing new prospects, although each project will require its own exploration, financing and development decisions.

Funding exploration without dilution

Aylward said Kodal intends to finance exploration using existing cash resources and cash flow from its mine rather than issuing new equity.

That approach could limit dilution for existing shareholders, provided the company generates sufficient operating cash and exploration spending remains within its financial capacity.

The funding strategy comes as lithium demand remains tied to electric vehicles, energy storage systems and consumer electronics.

Although prices and investment conditions can fluctuate with supply growth and changes in battery demand, Kodal is positioning its regional expansion around expectations that lithium will remain important to the energy transition.

Building a broader lithium portfolio

Established in 2013 and listed on London’s AIM market, Kodal acquired Bougouni three years later and has since focused on advancing its West African assets.

The Ghana agreement marks another step in that strategy, giving the company a potential second lithium development opportunity beyond its producing operation in Mali.

For Kodal, the central test will be whether early exploration indications at Asamankese translate into a commercially viable deposit.

Securing an interest in the project expands its options, but sustained exploration results, development costs and access to financing will determine whether Ghana becomes a meaningful contributor to the company’s longer-term growth.