Switch Metals plc (LSE:SWT) has outlined a further 7 km² of tantalum-bearing alluvial drainage areas at its Issia project in central Côte d’Ivoire, following completion of a focused alluvial exploration programme. The newly identified targets comprise shallow, free-dig material overlying priority drainage systems that exceed a technical cut-off grade of 1.5 g/m³ tantalum. These areas sit outside the scope of the current maiden mineral resource estimate, which is concentrated on eluvial and colluvial mineralisation.
The anomalous drainage basins coincide with the interpreted 16 km-long Issia pegmatite corridor and encompass zones surrounding the Kabore spodumene discovery. This consistency supports the company’s geological interpretation and further highlights the district-scale tantalum potential of the project area. Management plans to undertake a structured programme of pitting, bulk sampling and pilot-scale wash-plant testing across 28 priority basins, with the aim of defining additional near-surface resources.
The work is intended to underpin a potential low-capital, early cash-flow development pathway at Issia, leveraging the shallow nature of the alluvial targets while continuing to advance the broader resource base across the project.
More about Switch Metals plc
Switch Metals plc is a critical metals exploration company focused on tantalum and lithium in Côte d’Ivoire. The group controls a 1,015 km² district-scale land position within a highly prospective pegmatite belt. Its flagship Issia project, which includes the 112 km² Badinikro licence, is being progressed toward a maiden mineral resource estimate targeting near-surface tantalum mineralisation and associated lithium–caesium–tantalum pegmatite systems.
Leave a Reply