Australian miner Askari Metals has signed an agreement to acquire 100% of Namibia’s AstralL Dynamix Mining Investment (AstralL DMI), which is the sole owner of exclusive prospecting licence (EPL) 7626 in the country’s prospective Uis pegmatite belt.
EPL 7626 is located along Askari’s Uis lithium project (EPL 7345 and EPL 8535) and Andrada Mining’s Uis tin mine, holding a mineral resource of 81 million tonnes (mt) at 0.73% of Lithium oxide (Li₂O) and 0.15% of tin.
It covers a 68.2km² area and will significantly expand Askari’s Uis lithium project, which will cover a combined area of 380km² within the Erongo Region.
As consideration, Askari will pay A$275,000 in upfront cash and issue A$100,000 in shares to AstralL DMI.
The company will issue another A$300,000 worth of shares if it completes a drilling programme of least 2,000m reverse-circulation (RC) and delivers at least 10% lithium per metre in no less than ten drill holes.
It will hand out a further A$400,000 worth of shares if it is able to develop a 2012 JORC-compliant resource of more than 5mt at 1% Li₂O.
Askari executive director Gino D’Anna said: “This strategic expansion highlights the company’s focus to continue expanding our exposure to the battery metals sector.
EPL 7626 complements our position in the Uis pegmatite belt and expands our holdings to more than 380km² in a region that can only be described as the best real estate in Namibian Lithium.
“To acquire an additional highly prospective exploration licence within 2.5km from an operating mine sharing the same geology and mineralised pegmatites is remarkable, and something the company is very proud of achieving.”
Askari plans to complete a project-wide detailed mapping and sampling campaign, which will begin once the mapping at EPL 8535 concludes.
A follow-up mapping and sampling at the north-west portion of EPL 7345 will follow.
The company also noted that the geological formations in the Erongo Region are part of the Damara Sequence in Namibia.
The rocks have been intruded by multiple zones and unzoned pegmatites.
These pegmatites are rich in cassiterite, lepidolite, petalite, amblygonite, spodumene, tantalite, columbite, beryl, and gem tourmaline, along with rare occurrences of sulphides, wolframite, scheelite, pollucite, and rare earth elements.
