Switch Metals is entering a more active stage at its Issia Project in Côte d’Ivoire, where the company is preparing to drill-test lithium targets and advance tantalum resource work.
The company has identified spodumene-rich zones at Issia with lithium grades ranging from 1.00% to 2.58% Li2O. These surface results give Switch a defined starting point for its maiden scout drilling campaign, which will test the Kabore lithium discovery and other hard-rock targets across the licence.
Surface samples can show promise, but drilling will indicate whether the lithium mineralisation continues at depth and whether the project has the scale to become more significant. Positive results would strengthen the case for Issia as a larger lithium and tantalum system.
Switch has also identified multiple lithium and tantalum anomalies across the project area. This gives the company several targets to follow up, rather than relying on one discovery.
Tantalum is also part of the near-term focus. Switch is working on Mineral Resource Estimates for eluvial, colluvial and drainage basin targets, with an estimate expected shortly.
Lithium prices have started to recover after a difficult period for the sector, leading to mine restarts and renewed merger and acquisition activity. That backdrop could improve investor interest in early-stage lithium assets, especially those with visible exploration targets and exposure to critical minerals supply.
Switch Metals plc (LON:SWT) is the largest holder of coltan (tantalum and niobium) and lithium licences in Côte d’Ivoire with over 3,000 km2 including our licence applications.
