Switch Metals plc (LON:SWT), the critical metals focused mining company with assets located in Côte d’Ivoire, has announced its unaudited interim results for the six months to 30 June 2026.
Highlights
• Continuation of our exploration programme largely at the Badinikro licence area in support of our maiden tantalum Mineral Resource Estimate;
• Activities included a discovery of lithium-rich spodumene zones at Issia where the Directors believe the Kabore discovery represents a material development for the Company;
• Tiassalé is also emerging as a standalone Lithium opportunity;
• Oversubscribed fundraise in May of £1.25 million (gross); available cash as at 30 June 2026 was £901,230; and
• We entered the second half of 2026 with an active RC drilling programme
Karl Akueson, CEO of Switch Metals, commented:
“We are particularly pleased with the successful funding and completion of our maiden drilling programme at Issia, an area with no previous systematic exploration for tantalum or lithium mineralisation located near a historic alluvial tantalum mine.
“The drilling of the Zraty and Kabore hard rock targets is central to our strategy at Issia where our objective is to delineate both a shallow resource to confirm early cash flow potential and to demonstrate significant upside from hard rock resources of both tantalum and lithium. We plan to generate and test additional shallow and hard rock targets to build a resource inventory in phases as the Issia project grows.
“Switch Metals controls 3,169 km² across three projects in Côte d’Ivoire and is not a single asset Company. By applying a systematic exploration process to these greenfield projects, we expect to be able to confirm and prioritise maiden drill targets in the near term, building toward a comprehensive picture of the scale and potential of our portfolio.”
Chairman’s Statement
Introduction
Switch Metals is building a district-scale critical minerals platform in Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa, focused on tantalum and lithium within one of the region’s most prospective LCT pegmatite corridors. The half year under review saw significant advancement of our exploration programme largely at the Badinikro licence area within the flagship Issia Project in support of our maiden tantalum Mineral Resource Estimate (“MRE”), now expected to be published early in the first quarter of 2027. This included the commissioning of a pilot wash plant to concentrate pit samples in support of our maiden tantalum MRE.
The Company has also made a discovery of lithium-rich spodumene zones at Kabore within Issia, with grades up to 2.8% lithium oxide (Li2O) confirming the presence of a working Lithium-Caesium-Tantalum (“LCT”) system at Issia.
The Directors believe the Kabore discovery represents a material development for the Company and complements the tantalum resources being advanced across the near surface eluvial, colluvial and drainage basin targets at Issia. The combination of tantalum and lithium within the same mineral system is a significant differentiator and substantially improves the long-term optionality of the project.
In addition, Tiassalé is also emerging as a standalone Lithium opportunity hosting over 990 km² of ground where the Company has already delineated multiple lithium soil anomalies. The next phase of work here is designed to generate maiden drill targets. The Company is a neighbour of Atlantic Lithium, under acquisition by Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, and to Lithium Africa Corporation, affiliated with Ganfeng Lithium, providing an independent validation of the region’s prospectivity.
Operations and Use of Proceeds
While strengthened by the oversubscribed fundraise which completed in May of £1.25 million (gross at 10p a share) our focus remains on progressing the work programmes now underway. In particular, the RC drill results from the Zraty hard-rock tantalum target and Kabore lithium spodumene target at Issia.
Operationally, the net proceeds of the fund raise have been deployed as follows:
- Scout drilling campaign: to fund a maiden drill campaign at the Zraty and Kabore hard rock discoveries; and
- Mineral Resource Estimate advancement: to support the progression of tantalum MREs across the Company’s eluvial, colluvial and drainage basin targets at Issia.
Hard-Rock Drilling Programme
The Company commenced its maiden 2,500 metre RC drill programme at Issia in June 2026, testing two priority hard-rock pegmatite targets. Drilling at Zraty, one of the highest-grade hard-rock tantalum targets identified within the licence package, with surface samples returning up to 1,230 ppm Ta₂O₅, was completed first, with the rig subsequently moving to Kabore to test the 1.3 kilometre lithium spodumene anomaly below surface for the first time. RC drilling results for both targets are expected in the near term.
The Issia Project’s shallow placer tantalum mineralisation offers the potential for near-term ethical production from a stable, OECD-aligned West African jurisdiction, at a time of increasing scrutiny on DRC and Rwanda supply chains. In November 2025, the Company signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Xcelsior Capital Advisors and Wogen Resources, a global critical metals trader, covering a proposed strategic partnership for exploration funding, market access and ESG support, a direct signal of commercial interest in a traceable, ethically sourced tantalum supply from Côte d’Ivoire.
Outlook
The Company entered the second half of 2026 with the RC drilling programme now completed, a maiden resource programme at an advanced stage, and a growing body of geological evidence supporting the district-scale potential of its Côte d’Ivoire portfolio.
Financial review
The loss for the period, after finance costs and tax, of £696,256 (six months ended 30 June 2025: net loss of £1,003,432; year to 31 December 2025: net loss of £2,229,968), represents a loss of 0.57 pence per share (six month ended 30 June 2025: 1.24p; year to 31 December 2025: 2.24p).
Contained within these figures are administration costs of £667k and £16k project costs (excluding capitalised exploration expenditure). £128k of these expenses relate to Cote d’Ivoire and £26k of forex losses on translation.
In total, some £470k of funds were sent to Cote d’Ivoire in the first half of the year to support our projects which lifted the value of our Exploration & Evaluation (E&E) assets by a further £313k to £3.57m.
The results show financial performance for Switch Metals plc for the 6-month period combined with performance of Switch Metals CDI.
On the back of the £1.25m (gross) fund raise at 10p per share in May 2026, available cash as at 30 June 2026 was £901,230 (30 June 2025: £1,274,342; 31 December 2025: £536,199). The Company has no debt.
