Andrada Mining (AIM:ATM) reported a fourth batch of high-grade lithium results from its Lithium Ridge project in Namibia, including 24.08 metres grading 2.00% lithium oxide (Li2O) within a wider 35.59-metre intersection at 1.52% Li2O in drill hole LRD097.
The AIM and OTCQB-listed company is a tin producer that is developing Lithium Ridge alongside partner SQM International.
Drill hole LRD093 returned 30.24 metres at 1.23% Li2O, including a higher-grade section of 9.65 metres at 1.83% Li2O. Further intersections at holes LRD054 and LRD036 confirmed mineralisation continuing along strike and at depth, with grades as high as 1.93% and 1.62% Li2O respectively over shorter widths.
The results also confirmed tin and tantalum enrichment within the same pegmatite bodies, with hole LRD041 returning 7.49 metres at 0.44% tin and 134 parts per million tantalum.
"Intersecting over 24 metres at 2.00% Li2O in drill hole LRD097 is a milestone achievement that fundamentally enhances the scale and grade profile of the asset, showing continued potential at depth," chief executive Anthony Viljoen said, adding that the tin and tantalum co-products "have the potential to significantly reduce overall operating costs".
The current diamond drilling campaign is testing down-dip continuity of pegmatite swarms first identified through surface channel sampling and mapping, with spodumene visually confirmed as the primary lithium-bearing mineral.
News Intelligence what this means for the company
Andrada's fourth drill batch at Lithium Ridge has returned a 24-metre intersection grading 2.00% Li2O—the company's highest sustained lithium grade to date—nested within a wider 35.59-metre zone at 1.52% Li2O, deepening confidence in both scale and grade continuity at depth. The co-occurrence of tin and tantalum in the same pegmatite bodies offers a material cost offset if economically recoverable, addressing a key risk for a pre-revenue explorer: that lithium alone may not support project economics.
- SQM International, Andrada's development partner at Lithium Ridge, gains optionality on a larger, higher-grade resource base than prior drilling had suggested, potentially improving the project's attractiveness for joint-venture funding or offtake negotiation.
The 2.00% Li2O result materially strengthens the resource-definition case for Lithium Ridge and, if confirmed over a mineable strike length, could shift the project from exploration-stage risk to development-stage credibility. However, Andrada remains pre-revenue; the investment case turns on whether these grades and widths translate into a bankable feasibility study and whether tin/tantalum credits prove economically material at scale.
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