The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 ("MAR")

Kodal Minerals Plc / Index: AIM / Epic: KOD / Sector: Mining

Kodal Minerals plc

("Kodal Minerals", "Kodal" or the "Company")

17 December 2025

 Bougouni Project Update &

First Revenues Received

Kodal Minerals (AIM: KOD), the West African lithium producer, mineral exploration and development company, is pleased to provide an update on the mining operations at the Bougouni Lithium Project ("Bougouni" or the "Project") in Southern Mali, which is owned and operated by Kodal Mining UK Limited ("KMUK") in which Kodal has a 49% shareholding.

The Company is also pleased to provide confirmation of receipt of the initial payment for the maiden export of spodumene concentrate from Hainan Mining Co. Limited ("Hainan"), the Project's off-take partner and the final assay results for the drilling programme at the Boumou prospect.

Highlights:

·    The Dense Media Separation ("DMS") processing restarted this week after a planned maintenance and engineering works for the resolution of bottlenecking issues and adjustments to optimise plant performance as well as the build-up of the run-of-mine ("ROM") stockpile, with management expecting the DMS processing plant to be operating at nameplate capacity in the near future.

·    Payment from the Project's offtake partner, Hainan, for the sum of $21.3 million has been received by KMUK, marking 95% of the cargo value of the spodumene concentrate exported from the port of San Pedro on 28 November 2025, in accordance with the offtake agreement.

·    Mining continues at the Ngoualana open pit mine with pegmatite ore currently being blasted and mined from the middle level of the pit.

·    Pegmatite ore is being hauled to the ROM stockpile with current stockpile levels of approximately 65,000 tonnes.  The current mining plan provides for continued building of the stockpile with the aim of ensuring uninterrupted supply to the DMS processing plant throughout 2026.

·    De-watering of the pit is continuing, and it is expected that access to the base of the pit for blasting and mining of the main pegmatite ores will soon be available. This is not impacting on mine access as pit de-watering is an ongoing standard operation required for mining activity.

·    Transport of spodumene concentrate to the port of San Pedro is continuing and a second shipment of spodumene concentrate to China of 20,000-30,000 tonnes is planned for the first quarter of 2026.

·    Boumou prospect assay results received confirm the continuation of wide, high-grade pegmatite mineralisation.  The drilling intersected multiple pegmatite bodies with a further drilling campaign planned for early 2026. Significant drilling results include:

o  54m at 1.57% Li₂O from 104.5m in drill hole KLDH067;

o  37m at 1.60% Li₂O from 62.5m in drill hole KLDH060; and

o  20m at 1.41% Li₂O from 86m;

9.5m at 1.73% Li₂O from 110.5m; and

20.5m at 1.23% Li₂O from 219m in drill hole KLDH056.

Bernard Aylward, CEO of Kodal Minerals, remarked:

"We are very pleased to report the receipt of payment from Hainan following the maiden export by Lithium Mines de Bougouni SA ("LMLB") (a subsidiary of KMUK which owns the mining licence) of the spodumene concentrate from the port of San Pedro on 28 November 2025, marking first revenues for KMUK.  Following the successful transport and shipment of the first export of spodumene concentrate, the Bougouni mining operation has continued with the build-up of the ROM stockpile ahead of the full recommencement of production, which should ensure that the DMS processing plant is able to produce approximately 10,000 tonnes per month.

"Over recent months, the operation has focused on maintenance and engineering optimisation of the DMS processing plant planned from late August and into September. Following completion of the main improvements, the plant recommenced operations in late September, treating low-grade and transitional ore to ensure that the optimisation work was successful in upgrading the plant to reach its targeted production profile of 125,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate per annum.  Processing of ore material was then halted while the operation focussed on the export of finished product and resumption of ore mining from the open pit mine ahead of full processing resumption this week.

"We continue to have full support from our contractors and confirm that the operation has full fuel supply, and our blasting contractor continues to operate at full capacity.

"The high grade drilling intersection returned from the Boumou prospect highlight the potential growth of this prospect and continue to demonstrate the long-life potential of the Bougouni operation. The next stage of work to the Boumou prospect will include further drilling, metallurgical testing and geotechnical assessment to allow the team to develop a mining plan.  In addition, we are completing an update to the previously approved Environmental and Social Impact Assessment ("ESIA") due to the enlargement of this prospect area.  We expect to undertake this work throughout 2026 with the aim of completing the Feasibility Assessment and Investment Decision by the end of 2026.

"As KMUK's Bougouni operation moves to a steady state producer, the Company expects to provide a quarterly update covering key aspects of the operation including mining, processing, transport and shipping and including exploration and development drilling, with the first update expected in April 2026."

Further details

Hainan Payment for Initial Export

The full initial payment of US$21.3 million for the first shipment of spodumene concentrate has been paid by Hainan to the operating mining company, Les Mines de Lithium de Bougouni SA, ("LMLB") in line with the terms of the Bougouni offtake agreement.

This first payment is for an invoiced amount of 95% value of the spodumene concentrate. The final price will be confirmed following arrival in Hainan in early January where testing of the ore will confirm grade and tonnes delivered, the final shipping costs.  The final payment for the first shipment will then be paid to LMLB.

Ngoualana Open Pit Mining Activities

Open pit mining continues at the Ngoualana open pit mine.  During the wet season the pit filled with water, as was expected, and access to the base was unavailable for the mining fleet.  Activity transferred to the preparation for the full extension of the pit area, repair and maintenance of the haul roads and preparation for the re-commencement of mining activities in November.

De-watering of the pit has been ongoing, and a sump has been dug within the lower pit levels to improve the dewatering rate.  In addition, permanent bore holes have been installed in two locations to manage the pit water levels going forward. The Bougouni operation plans to install a second de-watering pipe system to ensure that the mining operation is less impacted by the wet season in 2026.

The current mining activities are focussed on near surface pegmatite bodies exposed in the pre-strip and initial mining as well as focussed on the extensions of the main ore zones in the middle levels of the open pit.  The mining operation consists of blasting of the pegmatite bodies and load to the ROM pad as well as removal of waste material. 

The blasting contractor has been able to secure supply of explosive material to ensure a steady state operation.

The Bougouni mining team has prepared a schedule of mining that will deliver over 100,000 tonnes of ore to the ROM pad each month, to ensure a full feed supply is available for the processing plant and additional material will be delivered throughout the dry season in preparation for the 2026 wet season (which usually occurs in from July to September).

Bougouni Processing Plant Activities

The Bougouni processing plant underwent a series of maintenance checks, engineering improvements and 'de-bottlenecking' initiatives to improve the plant performance in late August 2025 to late September 2025. These items were identified during the initial commissioning and ramp-up process of the plant operation, and the August/September period presented an optimal time given the wet season slow down. The plant re-commenced in late September 2025 and treated low grade and transitional ore for a period to ensure all engineering and improvements operated effectively.  The plant subsequently shut while the operation focussed on the transport of the spodumene stockpile that had built up around the plant area and had limited area for additional material to be produced.

During that time, however, the crushing plant was used to generate a large stockpile of stemming material for the drill and blast contractor by crushing the pegmatite waste rock. This will reduce reliance on outsourcing stemming and reduce operating cost. Stemming in mine blasting is a standard technique that involves filling the space above the explosive charge in a drill hole with inert but competent materials to confine the explosive energy. This practice serves to contain the explosive energy, directing it towards the rock mass and for maintaining the explosive energy within the blast hole, minimizing vibration and noise, and preventing poor fragmentation.

The processing of the pegmatite ore for the DMS processing plant has commenced this week and is expected to ramp up to nameplate capacity quickly following the improvements made during the maintenance outage.

Spodumene Transport and Export Activities

Following the successful transportation and export of the first spodumene concentrate from the Bougouni operation, the team will continue with the transport to the port of San Pedro during December 2025 and January 2026 with the target of building up a stockpile of more than 20,000 tonnes at port ready for a second shipment in the first quarter of 2026.  The proposed export timetable has planned regular shipments loads of a minimum of 20,000 tonnes concentrate, representing two months of production and providing better availability and economics of shipping transport.  The Bougouni operation has approval for the export of the next 20,000 tonnes of material so currently expects no delay in the transportation of material to the port.

Boumou Prospect Results and Next Steps

All assay results have been received for the Boumou prospect diamond drilling completed in 2025.  These assay results confirm the geological interpretation of the previous exploration work and highlight the consistent thickness and width of the multiple pegmatite veins intersected in the drilling completed to date. The Boumou prospect continues to expand with each drilling campaign and the focus of our next stages of work will be on the economic assessment and mining optimisation for the prospect to allow the team to develop a mining plan.  The work programme will consist of further infill and extension diamond drilling, metallurgical test work focussed on potential DMS processing, but importantly, focussing on the potential floatation plant design for Stage 2 of Bougouni and geotechnical drilling and assessment of the host rock to support the future open pit design.

The geological interpretation of the 2025 drilling campaign highlights the continuity of the main pegmatite bodies and is improving the understanding of the potential fault structures and areas of alteration that are reducing the lithium content of some of the pegmatite material.  This interpretation is being used to plan the 2026 drilling campaign expected to commence in the first quarter of 2026.

A summary of significant drill hole intersections from the diamond drilling programme completed in 2025 are outlined in the table below:

Notes:  Drill holes are diamond core drill holes.  Drill holes have been sampled on a 0.5m basis with samples collected as half-core cut by a diamond saw.  Sample boundaries are guided by geological interpretation.  Waste material is included in zones of consistent wide pegmatite bodies. All drill holes are geologically logged, and sampling for analysis is based on geological boundaries.  Samples analysed by ALS Global. Assay results are reported as Li% and converted to Li₂O% by a factor of 2.153.  Intersections are reported using geological boundaries for logged pegmatite, with a nominal 0.5%Li₂O lower-cut-off and allowing for internal dilution in zones of broad pegmatite mineralisation.

Geological interpretation of the Boumou prospect is ongoing and further announcements will be made as the confirmation of the expansion of the prospect is confirmed.

**ENDS**

For further information, please visit www.kodalminerals.com or contact the following:

About Kodal Minerals

Kodal Minerals plc, the AIM-quoted West African lithium explorer, developer and producer, is the co-developer of its flagship Bougouni Lithium Project in Southern Mali alongside joint venture partner Hainan Mining, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-listed Fosun International.

The Bougouni Lithium Project covers 350km² in the world-class Birimian terrain of West Africa, located approximately 180km south of Mali's capital Bamako. The Stage 1 Dense Media Separation ('DMS') processing plant, which achieved first spodumene concentrate production in February 2025, has a target output of 125ktpa Li₂O spodumene concentrate. Stage 2 Floatation plant is expected to commence operations in 2028 with a forecast output of 230ktpa Li₂O.

Bougouni is operated by Les Mines de Lithium de Bougouni SA ('LMLB'), a subsidiary of Kodal Mining UK Limited ('KMUK') which owns the project and in which Kodal has a 49 per cent shareholding. The company also has a number of highly prospective gold assets in its diverse portfolio located in West Africa.

For more information on Kodal, please visit kodalminerals.com

The exploration results and activity reported in this announcement have been reviewed by Mr Bernard Aylward who is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Mr Aylward has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity being undertaken to qualify as a Qualified Person as defined in the AIM Note for Mining and Oil & Gas Companies dated June 2009. Mr Aylward consents to the inclusion in this announcement of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.