10
September 2024
Operational
Update:
Copper and Lithium
Exploration, Botswana
Aterian Plc
("Aterian" or the
"Company")
Aterian Plc
(LSE: ATN), the critical metal-focused
exploration and development company, is pleased to provide an
update on activities since the conclusion of the Share Purchase
Agreement ("SPA") to
acquire a 90 % interest in Atlantis Metals (Pty) Ltd ("Atlantis") in the Republic of
Botswana ("Botswana"), as announced on 8 April
2024. Atlantis is a private Bostwana registered entity holding
seven prospecting licences in the world-renowned Kalahari Copper
Belt ("KCB") and three licences prospective for lithium brine in
the Makgadigadi Region of Botswana.
Highlights:
· Atlantis holds a
portfolio of ten strategically located licences for copper-silver
("Cu-Ag") and lithium brine
(''Li'') projects in
Botswana, covering 4,486.11 km2.
· Three licences are
held, covering a combined 2,516.93 km2 within the
Makgadikgadi Pans, considered highly prospective for lithium
brine.
· Initial target
generation has been completed using available airborne geophysical
data and remote sensing.
· Three licences are
prioritised for initial fieldwork for the KCB licences.
· Two areas of interest
have been identified on the lithium brine project for field
follow-up.
Charles Bray, Chairman of
Aterian, commented:
"I am pleased to provide this update
to our shareholders as we have completed the target generation
exercise and are preparing to initiate operations on the ground.
The highly prospective Kalahari Copperbelt is an excellent mineral
destination for the Company, with some well-documented, recent
exploration success stories.
"The copper and lithium licences in
Botswana underscore and support our exploration efforts in Morocco,
where we are actively exploring for sedimentary hosted,
near-surface copper with similar geological features, and in
Rwanda, where we have an earn-in JV with Rio Tinto exploring for
hard-rock lithium. The knowledge and experience gleaned by our
geologists across the jurisdictions are invaluable as we learn and
understand the various features of the environments. We look
forward to updating the market on our continued exploration effort
to develop these critical energy transition metals."
Activity Update - Target Generation
and Licence Prioritisation
The Company has been working with
two independent geophysical consultancies to acquire and reprocess
available airborne geophysical line data. The interpretation
is based on publications and data from the
Botswana Geoscience Institute (BGI), formerly the Geological Survey
Department, and other relevant published and unpublished data,
reports and press releases. The work
considered the regional geophysical setting and allows for
interpretation across the Altantis licences. This work aimed to provide an improved insight into the
underlying geological lithologies and more precise target
generation based on mapping the contact between the D'Kar Formation and the underlying red beds of the Ngwako Pan
Formation, the stratigraphic target for copper-silver
mineralisation in the KCB.
An independent remote-sensing
specialist evaluated the licences by processing Sentinel-2 VNIR/SWIR satellite imagery. A spectral unmixing of a Sentinel-2 VNIR and SWIR mosaic over
the KCB suggests four spectral endmembers as anomalous based on the
response over a known drilled prospect. These are interpreted as
bornite, chert, goethite and illite. These endmembers may generate
exploration targets with similar spectral fingerprints to the
drilled prospect either individually or using all endmembers using
a multivariate classifier. Anomalous gas emissions over the drilled
area are interpreted as carbon dioxide ("CO2") and helium
("He"). This technique may
facilitate the target generation of so-called blind targets in
those areas that lie under soil and deep overburden
cover.
Historical geophysical data
acquisition and reprocessing, supported by the Sentinel-2 VNIR and
SWIR interpretation, has also been completed for the lithium brine
licences around the eastern and southern shoreline of Sua Pan in
the Makgadigadi Region.
Sua Pan marks the southern end of
the East Africa Rift System and is situated on the eastern edge of
the Magondi Belt. Faulting in the pans parallels the
northeast-southwest Magondi trend. These faults are interpreted as
graben and half-graben structures and affect the present-day shape
of the pans. Another faulting direction, northwest-southeast, is
typified by the Lechana Fault, which cuts through Sua Pan (Schmidt,
G. et al.). The area's underlying geology is lower Karroo and
consists of the Lebung, Beaufort, and Ecca Groups. The licence
areas are dissected by the dyke swarm. Two blocks (Sua 1 and
Sua 2) have been selected for possible follow-up. These have been
chosen as they appear to be fault-bounded blocks, which may have
the potential for entrapment of brine
solutions.
Future Work
Based on the reinterpretation of the
available information and a review of work completed by the peer
group within the KCB, the Company has shortlisted three licences
for follow-up fieldwork. The remaining four licences will be
explored after the initial work on the priority areas has been
completed.
Selected profiles have been
identified for detailed ground magnetics, induced
polarisation/resistivity, electromagnetics (ground-based TDEM
/AMT), and ground gravity, which are the preferred methods for the
initial exploration phase. Additional geophysical works will be
considered based on the outcomes of the profile geophysics
indicating favourable conditions for potential copper
mineralisation. A soil sampling programme over any identified
geophysical profile anomaly will be initiated, a technique known to
be effective in the KCB to potentially resolve strike extensions.
Not all of the methods mentioned will be required for each licence,
and the specific survey method, or combination of geophysical
methods, will vary.
Regarding the lithium brine
licences, the Company is evaluating a gravimetric survey of
selected areas to model the main structures controlling brine
placement or containment. While the gravimetric survey is being
conducted, a technician will also locate the existing boreholes
identified in the national database and report their location and
condition for potential water/brine sample collection.
The Kalahari Copperbelt
(KCB)
The Kalahari Copperbelt is one of
the world's most prospective areas for yet-to-be-discovered
sediment-hosted copper deposits (USGS, 2020) and hosts several
large stratabound, sediment-hosted copper-silver deposits. The KCB
is a northeast-trending Meso- to Neoproterozoic belt that occurs
discontinuously from western Namibia and stretches into northern
Botswana along the northwestern edge of the Paleoproterozoic
Kalahari Craton. It is approximately 1,000 km long by up to 250 km
wide. It contains copper-silver mineralisation, generally
stratabound, hosted in metasedimentary rocks that have been folded,
faulted and metamorphosed to greenschist facies during the Damara
Orogeny. Typically, the deposits comprise stratabound disseminated
to structurally controlled ore bodies 5 to 40 m thick and have 1.5
to 4 km strike lengths. The main target for copper mineralisation
is towards the base of the D'Kar Formation, close to the contact of
the underlying red beds of the Ngwako Pan Formation.
(Source:
https://www.geologyforinvestors.com/khoemacau-africas-newest-copper-silver-mine)
One of the Atlantis licences is situated approximately 50 km east of MMG's
Khoemacau Copper Mine ("KCM") Zone 5 deposit (92.9 million
tonnes grading 2.0 % Cu and 21 g/t Ag. Furthermore, the Zone 9
Cu-Ag prospect,
owned by KCM, is within 30 km of this license area. Another licence
is located 7 km west of the KCM Banana Zone, which hosts 157
million tonnes grading 0.86% Cu and 11 g/t Ag. In
March 2024, MMG Limited, listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange,
completed the acquisition of Cuprous Capital Ltd,
the parent company of the Khoemacau Copper Mine in
the KCB, for US$ 1.73 billion.
Makgadikgadi Lithium Brine
Project
The licences (PL2328/2023,
PL2338/2023 and PL2621/2023) cover 2,517
km2. They are located along the eastern and southern
shores of Sua Pan, within the Central District, with Sua Pan
comprising one of three pans forming the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans. As
a means of boosting exploration investment, the Makgadikgadi Pans
region has been officially declared a "Lithium Zone" by the
Ministry of Mines and Energy since 2022 due to a history of known
lithium brine occurrence and the emergence of new Direct Lithium
Extraction (DLE) technologies capable of rendering once-thought
uneconomic deposits, economic, typically having lower CAPEX and
OPEX compared to conventional evaporation methods. Historical data
reported in a 1980s study of the Sua Pan brines by the US Trade and
Development Program indicated anomalous lithium values. The samples
were collected from the northern area of Sua Pan and returned
values of 103, 117 and 223 mg/l Li (note that the source and
precise sample location are unknown at this time).
Qualified
Person
The technical disclosure in this
regulatory announcement has been approved by Simon Rollason, Chief
Executive Officer of Aterian Plc. A graduate of the University of
the Witwatersrand in Geology (Hons). He is a Member of the
Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, with over 30 years of
experience in mineral exploration and mining.
- ENDS -
This announcement contains information which,
prior to its disclosure, was inside information as stipulated under
Regulation 11 of the Market Abuse (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations
2019/310 (as amended).
For further information, please visit the
Company's website: www.aterianplc.com or
contact:
Aterian Plc:
Charles Bray, Executive Chairman - charles.bray@aterianplc.com
Simon Rollason, Director - simon.rollason@aterianplc.com
Financial Adviser and Joint
Broker:
Novum Securities Limited
David Coffman / George Duxberry
Colin Rowbury
Tel: +44 (0)207 399 9400
Joint Broker:
SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP
Ewan Leggat / Kasia Brzozowska
Tel: +44 20 3470 0470
Financial PR:
Bold Voodoo
- ben@baldvoodoo.com
Ben Kilbey
Tel: +44 (0)7811 209 344
Notes to Editors:
About Aterian plc
www.aterianplc.com
Aterian plc is an LSE-listed exploration and
development company with a diversified African portfolio of
critical metals projects.
Aterian plc is actively seeking to acquire and develop new
critical metal resources to strengthen its existing asset base
whilst supporting ethical and sustainable supply chains as the
world transitions to a sustainable, renewable future. The
supply of these metals is vital for the development of the
renewable energy, automotive and electronic manufacturing sectors
that are playing an increasing role in reducing carbon emissions
and meeting climate ambitions globally.
The Company entered into a joint venture agreement
with Rio Tinto Mining and Exploration Limited for Rio
Tinto to earn into the HCK project in southern Rwanda to
explore and develop lithium-tantalum-niobium-tin mining operations.
Aterian currently holds a portfolio of multiple copper-silver and
base metal projects in the Kingdom of Morocco, with a total
area of 897 km2. In January 2024, the Company
announced the acquisition of a 90 % interest in Atlantis Metals.
This private Botswana registered company holds seven
mineral prospecting licences for copper-silver in the Kalahari
Copperbelt and three for lithium brine exploration in the
Makgadikgadi Pans region. The total licence area
in Botswana is 4,486 km2.
The Company's strategy is to seek new exploration and
production opportunities across the African continent and to
develop new sources of critical mineral assets for exploration,
development, and trading.