Switch Metals plc (LON:SWT), the critical metals company focused on tantalum and lithium in Côte d’Ivoire, has announced the results of its soil sampling programme at its Tiassalé Lithium project. The project comprises three licences covering approximately 990 km² in south-east Côte d’Ivoire, including the 298 km² Tiassalé West licence, which is under renewal. Tiassalé is located approximately 80 km from the port of Abidjan and is accessible by sealed road.
Tiassalé sits within an emerging lithium district that is attracting increasing attention from major international groups. Atlantic Lithium Ltd (which is subject to a proposed acquisition by Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co.) and Lithium Africa Corp (which has a partnership with Chinese lithium major Ganfeng Lithium Group Co., Ltd), are both active on adjacent properties and have recently announced spodumene discoveries. The Company believes these discoveries further validate the district-scale lithium potential of its Tiassalé licences.
Highlights
- Multiple geochemical soil anomalies delineated across three licences (990 km2), including three priority targets with a total footprint of 26 km2
- Priority targets at N’Douci East, Aboude North and Ananguie North display large, coherent lithium anomalies consistent with features associated with recent neighbouring spodumene discoveries
- Detailed mapping team now mobilised across priority target zones, with trenching or auger drilling to follow, as may be required to refine final drill targets
- Increasing lithium exploration activity by operators backed by Chinese lithium majors on adjacent properties supports Tiassalé’s potential as a new lithium district in Côte d’Ivoire
- Target generation undertaken in parallel to Mineral Resource Estimate (“MRE”) advancement and maiden drilling programmes at the Issia Project
- Strategically located two hours from the port of Abidjan by sealed road, with existing mineral export infrastructure in place
- Reverse circulation (RC) drilling results from the Zraty and Kabore hard-rock targets at Issia are expected in the near term
Tiassalé Project Background
Tiassalé is a lithium focused project with historical occurrences of spodumene and lithium-in-soil anomalies reported in the district. The project is strategically located 80 km from the port of Abidjan, with a sealed road and highway access providing excellent logistics for future development.
The Company has an exclusive option to earn a 100% interest in the Tiassalé land package. Tiassalé East and South cover a combined 692 km² and were granted for an initial four-year period from September 2023. Tiassalé West covers a further 298 km² and is currently under renewal.
A stream sampling programme undertaken in 2024 defined multiple targets for follow-up soil sampling, with preliminary soil sampling subsequently identifying additional areas of interest.
Figure 1: Tiassalé project location
Soil Programme Results
The soil sampling programme at Tiassalé was completed in parallel with the Company’s intensive MRE advancement and RC drilling campaigns at its flagship Issia project.
To date, 7,272 soil samples have been collected at Tiassalé. The samples were screened using portable X-ray fluorescence (“XRF”) to assess rubidium (“Rb”) as a pegmatite pathfinder and portable laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (“LIBS”) to assess indications of lithium in soils. These field-screening results have been used for preliminary target generation.
As a result of this preliminary targeting work, a total of seven targets have been defined on the three licences at Tiassalé.
Table 1: Tiassalé Project – Geochemical Targets
| Target | Licence | Footprint | Classification | Notes |
| N’Douci East | Tiassalé South | 7.6 km2 | Priority | Large coherent Rb & Li anomaly |
| Aboude North | Tiassalé South | 9.4 km2 | Priority | Large coherent Rb & Li anomaly |
| Ananguie North | Tiassalé East | 8.9 km2 | Priority | Large coherent Rb & Li anomaly |
| Cechi | Tiassalé East | — | Greenfield | New target |
| Kondiébouman | Tiassalé West | — | Brownfield | Historical spodumene occurrence; licence under renewal |
| Morokro South | Tiassalé South | — | Brownfield | Coherent Rb & Li anomaly |
| Ananguie | Tiassalé East/South | — | Brownfield | Coherent Rb & Li anomaly |
Figure 2: Geochemical targets generated at Tiassalé
Next Steps
A team has been mobilised to complete detailed mapping within the geochemical target zones, with trenching or auger drilling to follow, as may be required to refine final drill targets. The priority targets are N’Douci East, Aboude North and Ananguie North, selected on the basis of their large footprint and coherent rubidium and lithium anomalies. Results from this work will be used to define maiden drill targets at Tiassalé.
Karl Akueson, CEO of Switch Metals commented:
“The identification of seven lithium targets at Tiassalé, completed in parallel with our priority programmes at Issia, further demonstrates the depth and quality of the Switch Metals portfolio.
“The priority lithium geochemical anomalies at Tiassalé exhibit features consistent with those anomalies associated with recently announced spodumene discoveries made by our neighbouring operators who are backed by Chinese lithium majors Huayou Cobalt and Ganfeng Lithium. We believe this is a strong validation of the district’s potential and of our own targeting work.
“Switch Metals controls 3,169 km² across three projects in Côte d’Ivoire and is not a single-asset company. Tiassalé adds a compelling lithium dimension to a portfolio that already includes near-surface tantalum, hard-rock pegmatite potential and a lithium discovery at Issia.
“We look forward to updating shareholders on our continued progress across all three projects in the near term.”
