Birimian Ltd. said Jan. 23 that the potential sale of its wholly owned Bougouni lithium project in Mali to Shandong Mingrui Group fell through.

Birimian agreed to sell the Bougouni project for a total cash consideration of A$107.5 million, under a letter of intent signed earlier in January.

As part of the LOI, Shandong was required to deposit A$10.75 million by Jan. 20 to give binding effect to the deal.

Due to the regulatory protocols on the transfer of funds, Shandong was unable to deposit the agreed amount by the due date, which cancelled the LOI.

Managing Director Kevin Joyce said that Birimian is keen to accelerate Bougouni development towards commercialization in the year ahead and will continue to assess development options in this regard.