Prospect Resources Ltd (ASX:PSC) intends to acquire a property in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that is prospective for lithium and cobalt.
The company has entered an option agreement with J3 Mining to acquire a 75% interest in the Malemba Nkulu project, which is south of the Manono lithium mine.
Prospect has started the 90-day due diligence process and aims to carry out full-scale exploration upon exercising the option.
Pegmatites observed
“Significant-sized” pegmatites have been observed at the 455 square kilometre property in the DRC’s southeast.
Prospect executive chairman Hugh Warner said: “Adding a lithium project in such a key metallogenic province to our well-advanced Zimbabwean lithium project is another building block in establishing Prospect as the leading new energy provider in Africa.”
He highlighted the proximity to Manono mine: “We see the acquisition of this option and the exploration and possible resource definition as a strategic play to leverage off the infrastructure required for the Manono project.”
Lithium powerhouse
The nearby Manono-Kitotolo deposit was a powerhouse of lithium production and is one of the world’s largest tin, niobium-tantalum and lithium mineralised pegmatites.
J3’s two Malemba Nkulu small mining permits are in the Manono district of Haut Lomani Province and are accessible by air.
The mining permits are 400 kilometres north-northeast of the Congo’s second-largest city, Lubumbashi.
Next steps
Prospect has begun its first pass, technical due diligence, which will include geological mapping and sampling of soil and termite-hill geochemistry.
The company expects it will follow this up with trench and pit chip sampling.
Prospect’s option over Malemba Nkulu expires on September 25.