Arkle says results of an analysis of the preliminary regional sampling from part of its 937 sq. km licenses in the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans in Botswana have identified lithium in all 20 samples.
It said despite the lower grades of lithium in this first-pass sampling, it is normal for lithium to fluctuate in these environments.
“So the directors believe locating higher lithium levels in other parts of the Pan in Arkle's expansive license is highly plausible,” it said.
“The key point is that lithium has been detected in all samples and that higher levels may be found in other areas.”
Meanwhile, Arkle said there are also significant grades of magnesium that may be economically extracted as an additional product under a new process of direct lithium extraction (DLE).
It said the DLE process is potentially more efficient, environmentally friendly and cost-effective than traditional extraction methods.
“The high levels of magnesium detected in all of the samples, including 8 samples that were over 1% magnesium content, creates a compelling potential magnesium deposit which will also guide further exploration work on the Pan,” said Arkle.
It said the next steps would be preparation for shallow drilling to access brines down to a depth of 30m to obtain bulk sample analyses for DLE.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor-In-Chief, Rough & Polished
