REG - Aterian PLC - Operational Update: Botswana

AterianAnnouncement

10/09/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 4762D  Aterian PLC  10 September 2024

10 September 2024

 

Operational Update:

Copper and Lithium Exploration, Botswana

 

Aterian Plc

("Aterian" or the "Company")

 

Aterian Plc (LSE: ATN), the critical metal-focused exploration and development
company, is pleased to provide an update on activities since the conclusion of
the Share Purchase Agreement ("SPA") to acquire a 90 % interest in Atlantis
Metals (Pty) Ltd ("Atlantis") in the Republic of Botswana ("Botswana"), as
announced on 8 April 2024. Atlantis is a private Bostwana registered entity
holding seven prospecting licences in the world-renowned Kalahari Copper Belt
("KCB") and three licences prospective for lithium brine in the Makgadigadi
Region of Botswana.

 

Highlights:

·      Atlantis holds a portfolio of ten strategically located licences
for copper-silver ("Cu-Ag") and lithium brine (''Li'') projects in Botswana,
covering 4,486.11 km(2).

·      Three licences are held, covering a combined 2,516.93 km(2)
within the Makgadikgadi Pans, considered highly prospective for lithium brine.

·      Initial target generation has been completed using available
airborne geophysical data and remote sensing.

·      Three licences are prioritised for initial fieldwork for the KCB
licences.

·      Two areas of interest have been identified on the lithium brine
project for field follow-up.

Charles Bray, Chairman of Aterian, commented:

 

"I am pleased to provide this update to our shareholders as we have completed
the target generation exercise and are preparing to initiate operations on the
ground. The highly prospective Kalahari Copperbelt is an excellent mineral
destination for the Company, with some well-documented, recent exploration
success stories.

 

"The copper and lithium licences in Botswana underscore and support our
exploration efforts in Morocco, where we are actively exploring for
sedimentary hosted, near-surface copper with similar geological features, and
in Rwanda, where we have an earn-in JV with Rio Tinto exploring for hard-rock
lithium. The knowledge and experience gleaned by our geologists across the
jurisdictions are invaluable as we learn and understand the various features
of the environments. We look forward to updating the market on our continued
exploration effort to develop these critical energy transition metals."

 

Activity Update - Target Generation and Licence Prioritisation

The Company has been working with two independent geophysical consultancies to
acquire and reprocess available airborne geophysical line data. The
interpretation is based on publications and data from the Botswana Geoscience
Institute (BGI), formerly the Geological Survey Department, and other relevant
published and unpublished data, reports and press releases. The work
considered the regional geophysical setting and allows for interpretation
across the Altantis licences. This work aimed to provide an improved insight
into the underlying geological lithologies and more precise target generation
based on mapping the contact between the D'Kar Formation and the underlying
red beds of the Ngwako Pan Formation, the stratigraphic target for
copper-silver mineralisation in the KCB.

An independent remote-sensing specialist evaluated the licences by processing
Sentinel-2 VNIR/SWIR satellite imagery. A spectral unmixing of a Sentinel-2
VNIR and SWIR mosaic over the KCB suggests four spectral endmembers as
anomalous based on the response over a known drilled prospect. These are
interpreted as bornite, chert, goethite and illite. These endmembers may
generate exploration targets with similar spectral fingerprints to the drilled
prospect either individually or using all endmembers using a multivariate
classifier. Anomalous gas emissions over the drilled area are interpreted as
carbon dioxide ("CO(2)") and helium ("He"). This technique may facilitate the
target generation of so-called blind targets in those areas that lie under
soil and deep overburden cover.

Historical geophysical data acquisition and reprocessing, supported by the
Sentinel-2 VNIR and SWIR interpretation, has also been completed for the
lithium brine licences around the eastern and southern shoreline of Sua Pan in
the Makgadigadi Region.

Sua Pan marks the southern end of the East Africa Rift System and is situated
on the eastern edge of the Magondi Belt. Faulting in the pans parallels the
northeast-southwest Magondi trend. These faults are interpreted as graben and
half-graben structures and affect the present-day shape of the pans. Another
faulting direction, northwest-southeast, is typified by the Lechana Fault,
which cuts through Sua Pan (Schmidt, G. et al.). The area's underlying geology
is lower Karroo and consists of the Lebung, Beaufort, and Ecca Groups. The
licence areas are dissected by the dyke swarm. Two blocks  (Sua 1 and Sua 2)
have been selected for possible follow-up. These have been chosen as they
appear to be fault-bounded blocks, which may have the potential for entrapment
of brine solutions.

Future Work

Based on the reinterpretation of the available information and a review of
work completed by the peer group within the KCB, the Company has shortlisted
three licences for follow-up fieldwork. The remaining four licences will be
explored after the initial work on the priority areas has been completed.

 

 

Selected profiles have been identified for detailed ground magnetics, induced
polarisation/resistivity, electromagnetics (ground-based TDEM /AMT), and
ground gravity, which are the preferred methods for the initial exploration
phase. Additional geophysical works will be considered based on the outcomes
of the profile geophysics indicating favourable conditions for potential
copper mineralisation. A soil sampling programme over any identified
geophysical profile anomaly will be initiated, a technique known to be
effective in the KCB to potentially resolve strike extensions. Not all of the
methods mentioned will be required for each licence, and the specific survey
method, or combination of geophysical methods, will vary.

Regarding the lithium brine licences, the Company is evaluating a gravimetric
survey of selected areas to model the main structures controlling brine
placement or containment. While the gravimetric survey is being conducted, a
technician will also locate the existing boreholes identified in the national
database and report their location and condition for potential water/brine
sample collection.

 

 

The Kalahari Copperbelt (KCB)

The Kalahari Copperbelt is one of the world's most prospective areas for
yet-to-be-discovered sediment-hosted copper deposits (USGS, 2020) and hosts
several large stratabound, sediment-hosted copper-silver deposits. The KCB is
a northeast-trending Meso- to Neoproterozoic belt that occurs discontinuously
from western Namibia and stretches into northern Botswana along the
northwestern edge of the Paleoproterozoic Kalahari Craton. It is approximately
1,000 km long by up to 250 km wide. It contains copper-silver mineralisation,
generally stratabound, hosted in metasedimentary rocks that have been folded,
faulted and metamorphosed to greenschist facies during the Damara Orogeny.
Typically, the deposits comprise stratabound disseminated to structurally
controlled ore bodies 5 to 40 m thick and have 1.5 to 4 km strike lengths. The
main target for copper mineralisation is towards the base of the D'Kar
Formation, close to the contact of the underlying red beds of the Ngwako Pan
Formation.

 

(Source:
https://www.geologyforinvestors.com/khoemacau-africas-newest-copper-silver-mine)

 

One of the Atlantis licences is situated approximately 50 km east of MMG's
Khoemacau Copper Mine ("KCM") Zone 5 deposit (92.9 million tonnes grading 2.0
% Cu and 21 g/t Ag. Furthermore, the Zone 9 Cu-Ag prospect, owned by KCM, is
within 30 km of this license area. Another licence is located 7 km west of the
KCM Banana Zone, which hosts 157 million tonnes grading 0.86% Cu and 11 g/t
Ag. In March 2024, MMG Limited, listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange,
completed the acquisition of Cuprous Capital Ltd, the parent company of the
Khoemacau Copper Mine in the KCB, for US$ 1.73 billion.

 

Makgadikgadi Lithium Brine Project

The licences (PL2328/2023, PL2338/2023 and PL2621/2023) cover 2,517 km(2).
They are located along the eastern and southern shores of Sua Pan, within the
Central District, with Sua Pan comprising one of three pans forming the
Makgadikgadi Salt Pans. As a means of boosting exploration investment, the
Makgadikgadi Pans region has been officially declared a "Lithium Zone" by the
Ministry of Mines and Energy since 2022 due to a history of known lithium
brine occurrence and the emergence of new Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE)
technologies capable of rendering once-thought uneconomic deposits, economic,
typically having lower CAPEX and OPEX compared to conventional evaporation
methods. Historical data reported in a 1980s study of the Sua Pan brines by
the US Trade and Development Program indicated anomalous lithium values. The
samples were collected from the northern area of Sua Pan and returned values
of 103, 117 and 223 mg/l Li (note that the source and precise sample location
are unknown at this time).

 

Qualified Person

The technical disclosure in this regulatory announcement has been approved by
Simon Rollason, Chief Executive Officer of Aterian Plc. A graduate of the
University of the Witwatersrand in Geology (Hons). He is a Member of the
Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, with over 30 years of experience
in mineral exploration and mining.

 

 

- ENDS -

 

This announcement contains information which, prior to its disclosure, was
inside information as stipulated under Regulation 11 of the Market Abuse
(Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019/310 (as amended).

 

For further information, please visit the Company's website:
www.aterianplc.com (http://www.aterianplc.com) or contact:

 

Aterian Plc:

Charles Bray, Executive Chairman - charles.bray@aterianplc.com
(mailto:charles.bray@aterianplc.com)

Simon Rollason, Director - simon.rollason@aterianplc.com
(mailto:simon.rollason@aterianplc.com)

 

Financial Adviser and Joint Broker:

Novum Securities Limited

David Coffman / George Duxberry

Colin Rowbury

Tel: +44 (0)207 399 9400

 

Joint Broker:

SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP

Ewan Leggat / Kasia Brzozowska

Tel: +44 20 3470 0470

 

Financial PR:

Bold Voodoo - ben@baldvoodoo.com

Ben Kilbey

Tel: +44 (0)7811 209 344

Notes to Editors:

About Aterian plc

www.aterianplc.com (http://www.aterianplc.com)

 

Aterian plc is an LSE-listed exploration and development company with a
diversified African portfolio of critical metals projects.

Aterian plc is actively seeking to acquire and develop new critical metal
resources to strengthen its existing asset base whilst supporting ethical and
sustainable supply chains as the world transitions to a sustainable, renewable
future. The supply of these metals is vital for the development of the
renewable energy, automotive and electronic manufacturing sectors that are
playing an increasing role in reducing carbon emissions and meeting climate
ambitions globally.

 

The Company entered into a joint venture agreement with Rio Tinto Mining and
Exploration Limited for Rio Tinto to earn into the HCK project in
southern Rwanda to explore and develop lithium-tantalum-niobium-tin mining
operations. Aterian currently holds a portfolio of multiple copper-silver and
base metal projects in the Kingdom of Morocco, with a total area of 897
km(2). In January 2024, the Company announced the acquisition of a 90 %
interest in Atlantis Metals. This private Botswana registered company holds
seven mineral prospecting licences for copper-silver in the Kalahari
Copperbelt and three for lithium brine exploration in the Makgadikgadi Pans
region. The total licence area in Botswana is 4,486 km(2).

 

The Company's strategy is to seek new exploration and production opportunities
across the African continent and to develop new sources of critical mineral
assets for exploration, development, and trading.

 

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