REG - Switch Metals PLC - Additional Tantalum-Rich Targets at Issia

Switch MetalsAnnouncement

10/02/2026 07:00

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
https://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20260210:nRSJ3176Sa&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 3176S  Switch Metals PLC  10 February 2026

10 February 2026

 

Switch Metals plc

("Switch Metals" or the "Company")

 

Additional Tantalum-Rich Alluvial Targets Identified at Issia

Switch Metals (AIM: SWT), the critical metals company focused on tantalum and
lithium in the Côte d'Ivoire, is pleased to announce the identification of
additional tantalum-rich alluvial targets at its Issia project, following the
completion of its targeted alluvial work programme.

The Issia Project forms part of Switch Metals' 1,015 km² district-scale land
package in central Côte d'Ivoire, covering a highly prospective pegmatite
corridor with demonstrated tantalum and lithium mineralisation. The newly
identified alluvial targets sit within the Company's 112 km(2) Badinikro
licence, the initial focus of the Company's exploration programme, adding
further near-surface upside in addition to the eluvial and colluvial targets
currently being advanced toward a maiden Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE").

Highlights

·    Additional 7 km(2) of prospective alluvial drainage basins
identified, adding shallow, free-dig, near-term resource growth potential at
Issia.

·    Results are incremental to the maiden MRE underway, focused on
eluvial and colluvial target zones.

·    Shallow alluvial targets are amenable to low-cost mining and
processing using conventional gravity separation.

·    Tantalum ("Ta") anomalous basins align with the interpreted 16
km-long Issia pegmatite corridor, reinforcing confidence in the geological
model and hard rock pegmatite potential.

·    Drainage basins surrounding the Kabore spodumene discovery also show
elevated tantalum responses.

·    Follow up work will include systematic pitting of 28 priority
drainage basins, with the aim of delineating additional shallow tantalum
resources to support early-stage cashflow development planning.

Background

The alluvial targeting programme comprised systematic pitting across all
delineated drainage basins delineated at Issia, covering a total surface area
of 2,763 hectares (27.63 km(2)) (see Figure 1 below).

Each sample comprised a six-pan (0.042 m(3)) bulk sample, manually washed to
produce a heavy mineral concentrate. Concentrates were analysed on-site using
a portable X-ray Fluorescence device ("pXRF").

 

Tantalum anomalous basins identified

pXRF results have highlighted 28 priority drainage basins exceeding a
technical cut-off grade of 1.5 g/m(3) Ta, with elevated tantalum and niobium
(coltan) values. These priority basins cover a combined area of 7.04 km(2)
(see figure 1).

Importantly, the most anomalous drainage basins fit within the previously
interpreted 16 km-long Issia pegmatite corridor trending northwest to
southeast. This observation supports the interpretation of Issia as a
district-scale tantalum system, where shallow placer mineralisation is derived
from the historic weathering of tantalum-rich hard rock pegmatites located
adjacent to or beneath the free-dig preliminary resource targets.

Next steps

The identification of these additional alluvial targets builds on ongoing
near-surface work at Issia, where systematic pitting and pilot wash-plant
processing are already underway in support of the maiden MRE.

The follow-up programme will focus on bulk sampling and recovery tests using
the Company's pilot wash plant. It will include systematic pitting across each
priority drainage basin to delineate additional shallow tantalum resources and
further evaluate the scale and continuity of near-surface mineralisation at
Issia which will feed into the Company's early cashflow development plan.

Karl Akueson, CEO of Switch Metals plc commented:

"A key objective of this programme was to demonstrate the scale and continuity
of the tantalum mineralisation at Issia. The delineation of multiple
additional tantalum anomalous drainage basins confirms the district-scale
nature of the system and highlights the potential for shallow, low-cost
resource growth alongside the work already underway."

"These additional tantalum basins covering 7 km(2) are located within our 112
km(2) Badinikro licence, which forms part of a much larger 1,015 km(2)
district-scale land package with similar geological characteristics. As we
continue to apply systematic exploration methods across Issia, we remain
confident in its potential to support a significant, conflict-free tantalum
development opportunity."

 

Figure 1: Location of anomalous drainage basins within Issia's Badinikro
licence

 

Figure 2: Schematic of eluvial (and colluvial), alluvial and hard rock LCT
(Lithium-Caesium-Tantalum) pegmatite contexts typical of the interpreted Issia
coltan district

 

For further information, please contact:

 

 Switch Metals plc                                                              Via IFC Advisory

 Karl Akueson, CEO

 Andy Yeo, CFO

 Allenby Capital Limited (Nominated Adviser & Joint Broker)                     +44 (0) 203 328 5656

 Corporate Finance: Nick Harriss / James Reeve

 Sales: Kelly Gardiner / Lauren Wright/ Matt Butlin

 OAK Securities (Lead Broker)                                                   +44 (0) 203 973 3678

 Jerry Keen, Head of Corporate Broking

 jerry.keen@oak-securities.com (mailto:jerry.keen@oak-securities.com)

 Henry Clarke, Head of Sales

 henry.clarke@oak-securities.com (mailto:henry.clarke@oak-securities.com)

 IFC Advisory Limited (Financial PR and IR)                                     +44 (0) 203 934 6632

 Tim Metcalfe / Florence Staton

 switchmetals@investor-focus.co.uk (mailto:switchmetals@investor-focus.co.uk)

 

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  UPDUPUAGPUPQGRB



            Copyright 2019 Regulatory News Service, all rights reserved