Askari Metals Ltd (ASX:AS2, FRA:7ZG) recently disclosed new Phase 1 trenching results from the OP pegmatite target at the Uis Project in Namibia, with executive director Gino D’Anna saying the work had confirmed continuous polymetallic mineralisation across a large-scale system.
Speaking with Proactive, D’Anna said the project was strategically positioned alongside the operating Uis tin mine, owned by Andrada, and noted that the neighbouring operation provided an important reference point because it was mining the same style of pegmatite mineralisation. He said the latest results suggested Askari Metals Ltd had identified “that same continuous polymetallic mineralisation in a very significant system of pegmatite”.
D’Anna said the OP target showed a repeated strike length of roughly 2.2 kilometres, with average widths between 15 and 30 metres at surface. In his view, that kind of scale was fundamentally important in assessing the broader resource potential of the project.
He said the assay results demonstrated elevated tin and continuous lithium mineralisation across the strike, with tantalum, rubidium and cesium also present. According to D’Anna, the trenching results not only supported the historical exploration dataset but also gave the company greater confidence as it prepares for follow-up RC and diamond drilling in the second half of the year.
That drilling program appears to be one of the key near-term catalysts for Askari. D’Anna said the company had previously intersected high-grade mineralisation at OP, but only across a small part of the overall pegmatite system. With trenching now exposing more of the mineralised structure at surface, he said the company was in a stronger position to refine drill design and target selection.
Another potential catalyst could come from fresh-rock drilling. D’Anna said the surface expression at OP was within weathered pegmatite and added that the company expected “some very sharp numbers” once drilling moved into fresh rock. That comment may attract attention from investors looking for evidence of stronger grades at depth.
Key highlights
- Askari reported Phase 1 trenching results from the OP pegmatite target at the Uis Project in Namibia.
- Gino D’Anna said the results confirmed continuous polymetallic mineralisation across a large-scale system.
- The OP pegmatite target has a strike length of about 2.2 kilometres and a width of roughly 15 to 30 metres at surface.
- Assays confirmed tin, lithium, tantalum, rubidium and cesium mineralisation.
- The trenching results validated historical exploration and improved confidence for the next drilling phase.
- Askari plans follow-up RC and diamond drilling in the second half of the year.
- D’Anna said the pegmatite is weathered at surface, with potential for stronger assay results in fresh rock.
- Tin appears to be the dominant mineral and would likely anchor any future processing route.
- Secondary circuits could potentially recover lithium, tantalum, rubidium and cesium as additional concentrates.
- The project sits next to the operating Uis mine, giving Askari Metals Ltd a useful nearby analogue for mining and processing.
- The neighbouring operator has been monitoring Askari Metals Ltd’s progress closely.
- There could be M&A potential if the company continues to demonstrate scale at Uis.
Proactive: Welcome back to Proactive Investors. I’m your host Kerry Stevenson. Today I’m joined again by Gino D’Anna, executive director of Askari Metals. Last time I spoke with Gino he was over in Namibia, but he’s back now, so we’ve got nice crisp clear sound. Today the company has released new results from the Uis Project in Namibia. Phase 1 trenching at the targets is confirming some pretty interesting targets across a very large-scale system. Good to see you again, Gino. Thanks for joining me today.
Gino D’Anna: Thank you very much, Kerry. Thanks for organising.
Proactive: Talk to us about this announcement today and how important it is for you as you progress this project in Namibia.
Gino D’Anna: Certainly. To give a little background and context for listeners who may not be familiar with the Uis Project, the company is in what is called the Karibib pegmatite belt. It is a strategically positioned asset because it sits adjacent to an existing operating tin mine called Uis, which is owned by Andrada. That mine has a significant resource of 77.5 million tonnes and is viewed as a polymetallic project containing tin, tantalum, lithium, rubidium and cesium.
The results released this morning from the OP pegmatite target confirm that Askari Metals Ltd has the same continuous polymetallic mineralisation in a significant pegmatite system. The repeated strike is about 2.2 kilometres and the average width is between 15 and 30 metres. That is what the company is seeing on surface and in the trench targets it excavated. Something with that sort of scale in both strike and width is fundamentally important when assessing the scalability of a resource.
The results show elevated and very high levels of tin, along with consistent continuous lithium mineralisation across the entire strike. The same can also be said for tantalum, rubidium and cesium. A key takeaway from the trenching and assay information is that it validates historical exploration completed by Askari Metals Ltd and predecessor companies. It also gives the company a far greater level of confidence for follow-up RC and diamond drilling, which is the next step planned for the second half of the year.
Some of the drill holes completed previously did intersect high grades of mineralisation at OP, but only a very small fraction of that pegmatite system was drilled. With access now exposing surface mineralised structure through trenching, the company can refine its new drill design and planning with greater confidence. The company now has a clearer idea of where to drill and what sort of mineralisation is being intersected at surface. Importantly, the pegmatite is weathered, so the company expects a distinct uplift in assay results when drilling reaches fresh rock.
Proactive: In my head, because you’ve talked about tin, lithium, tantalum and cesium, my brain goes to the question of whether there are challenges further down the track with processing a project like this. That might sound like a dumb question, but I’m just trying to understand it fully.
Gino D’Anna: That is a really good point. Naturally, when you are dealing with several different minerals, it does introduce processing challenges. The advantage here is that the mine next door is mining the exact same pegmatite that Askari Metals Ltd is exploring. It has the same view in terms of recoverability and the persistence of the mineralisation. It really becomes a case of processing the tin first and then having secondary circuits to treat the lithium and a circuit to treat the tantalum.
Essentially, if you are talking about lithium, tin, tantalum, rubidium and cesium, the operation would be producing five different mineral concentrates. Each would go through the same series of heavy media or heavy liquid separation to begin with, then through secondary circuits to produce subsequent concentrates. The end result would be very clean tin, cesium, rubidium and lithium concentrates.
So it is not necessarily a challenge as such. It simply means more detailed processing is required in order to extract those subsequent minerals as well.
Proactive: But tin is the overarching one, the number one, and then you go through with the lithium?
Gino D’Anna: Correct. From what the company is seeing in the pegmatite and from the metallurgy and mineralogy at OP, tin tends to be the dominant mineral. That means it would be the mineral anchoring processing to begin with. Then secondary circuits would treat what you might call the modern metals or modern minerals.
Those other minerals are essentially paid for because the tin concentrate covers the operating costs. Anything else that comes out of the mine, including tantalum, rubidium, cesium and lithium, is additional upside. That is exactly what is happening at the nearby Uis mine. When I say nearby, Askari Metals Ltd is within a few hundred metres of the pit and concentrator. That is where the licence boundary starts.
Proactive: So it’s the same geological setting?
Gino D’Anna: Absolutely. The only advantage the existing operation has is that it has been in operation for a long time, while Askari Metals Ltd’s ground has not seen the same level of exploration or investigation until the company stepped in and started evaluating the opportunity more thoroughly.
Proactive: One quick question before we finish up. Why didn’t the neighbouring operator expand and take the ground that Askari Metals Ltd now has if it has been processing there for so long?
Gino D’Anna: It really came down to where commodity prices were at the time. The environment being seen now, with high tantalum prices, strong tin prices, a recovering lithium price, and supply tightness in cesium and rubidium, is relatively recent. Askari Metals Ltd has been there for the last three and a half years, so the company entered at a point where those minerals were not in vogue as they are today.
Also, Andrada started as a pure-play tin company, so its expansion into secondary minerals has been relatively recent as well. All those factors combined meant Askari Metals Ltd was already positioned and held the ground along strike and surrounding the mine, which limited the option for Andrada to expand into that area.
That said, Andrada is watching the company closely and watching the results closely, especially from a size and scalability perspective at OP and other targets on the licence. It would be fair to say there could be a natural M&A opportunity between the two entities at some point.
Proactive: That was going to be my final question to you, so thanks for answering that. Great to see you. Thank you so much for the update. We look forward to speaking with you again, and welcome back to Australia.
Gino D’Anna: Perfect. Thank you so much, Kerry. Cheers.