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

Kodal Minerals plc

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

3 March 2026

Commencement of arbitration

Kodal Minerals (AIM: KOD), the West African lithium producer, mineral exploration and development company, announces the commencement of arbitration proceedings regarding a claim by Kodal Mining UK Limited ("KMUK") for indemnification in respect of the US$15 million payment made to the Government of Mali, as originally announced on 5 November 2024. Kodal has yesterday filed its response to the notice of arbitration received from KMUK.

KMUK is a company owned 51% by Hainan Mining Co. Ltd ("Hainan") and 49% by Kodal.  KMUK is a company established to hold the Bougouni Lithium Project and lithium exploration assets in southern Mali.

Kodal highlights that it has undertaken meetings and had correspondence with representatives of Hainan since the announcement on 5 November 2024 to discuss the issues surrounding the indemnity claim. However, unfortunately these discussions have not resulted in a resolution of the matter.

Kodal has set out in its response its opinion that the US$15 million sum paid to the Malian Government pursuant to the binding Memorandum of Understanding announced on 1 November 2024 in relation to the transfer of the Bougouni Lithium Project mining licence to the mining company Les Mines de Lithium de Bougouni and migration of the project to the Malian 2023 Mining Code is not a liability for tax to be indemnified by Kodal pursuant to the Hainan funding transaction announced on 19 January 2023. The Company is also considering its position in relation to potential associated claims or counterclaims.

Kodal will keep shareholders informed of progress in the arbitration claim as appropriate. 

**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 its partner Hainan Mining Co. Ltd, 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 achieved first spodumene concentrate production in February 2025 and made its first shipment of concentrate in December 2025. A Stage 2 Flotation plant is planned in future years to process the finer-grained resources within the Bougouni deposit.

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 early-stage gold assets in its diverse portfolio located in West Africa.

For more information on Kodal, please visit kodalminerals.com