Andrada Mining Limited, the critical minerals producer with mining and exploration assets in Namibia, has announced the commencement of exploration drilling at the Lithium Ridge project in partnership with Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA through its subsidiary SQM Australia (SQM). This milestone represents part of the stage 1 workplan of the three stage earn-in agreement with SQM. Under this first stage, SQM will fund up to US$7 million in exploration to secure an initial 30% interest at project level with the potential to fund up to US$40m million over the three stages.
HIGHLIGHTS
- 14 000 metres of Orientated Diamond Drilling (DD) underway across priority lithium targets.
- High resolution geological mapping and sampling already identifying new pegmatites with visible spodumene mineralisation.
- Programme builds on historical results of up to 2.13% Li₂O along a 6 km mineralised ridgeline.
Anthony Viljoen, Chief Executive Officer, commented: “The commencement of drilling at Lithium Ridge with our tier-1 joint-venture partner, SQM, is a significant step forward in unlocking one of Namibia’s most exciting lithium opportunities. The encouraging historical results of up to 2.13% Li₂O along the 6km ridge line, are already being complemented by a new geological mapping and sampling programme that has identified additional mineralised pegmatites containing visible spodumene crystals. This strengthens our confidence in the scale and quality of the project. The investment by SQM underscores Lithium Ridge’s potential and Namibia’s growing role in the global supply of critical minerals. We expect this programme to provide the foundation for fast-tracking the project towards development.”
