Switch Metals (AIM:SWT) has commenced its maiden drill programme at the Issia Project, testing two distinct pegmatite targets for tantalum and lithium in Côte d'Ivoire.
The AIM-listed critical metals explorer is targeting approximately 800 metres at the Zraty tantalum-bearing pegmatite and 1,700 metres at the Kabore lithium target, though the final split may shift depending on results and geological observations.
Zraty has returned surface samples grading up to 1,230 parts per million tantalum pentoxide, making it one of the highest-grade hard-rock tantalum targets identified at the project to date.
Kabore is associated with a 1.3 kilometre lithium pathfinder anomaly, with spodumene mineralisation grading up to 2.8% lithium oxide.
In parallel, work on a maiden tantalum mineral resource estimate, focused on shallow eluvial and colluvial targets at Issia, is described as being at an advanced stage, with further resource updates planned to incorporate alluvial and, eventually, hard-rock mineralisation.
"Zraty represents a significant test of the hard-rock potential at Issia and further demonstrates the broader prospectivity of the project beyond the near-surface resources currently being incorporated into our maiden tantalum MRE," said CEO Karl Akueson.
The maiden mineral resource estimate is expected ahead of subsequent updates covering the wider alluvial drainage basin targets.
