Exploration and development company Montero, which is putting mineralisation to the test in Namibia in its search for a lithium resource, last week confirmed the presence of the soft silver-white metal in central Namibia.
“Our first channel sampling programme has confirmed lithium,” Montero CEO Dr Tony Harwood said in a release to Creamer Media’s Mining Weekly.
Demand for lithium, which is used in the rechargable batteries of electric vehicles, is forecast to rise as production of electric cars rises.
The lithium price has increased by more than 30% this year to a record $12 000/t.
Spodumene has been identified as the major lithium-bearing mineral and Montero is testing the lithium content of the spodumene-bearing pegmatites in Namibia's Soris area, north-west of the town of Uis, in the Erongo region, and connected by dirt and asphalt road to the Port of Walvis Bay.