AfriTin Mining has discovered significant grades of lithium, in addition to tin, in pegmatites in the ML 133 licence, located in the Nainais area, near its Uis tin mine, in Namibia.
Recent test work indicates that the most abundant lithium-bearing mineral present is petalite, with lesser lithian-muscovite, montebrasite and cookeite.
In addition to the high modal abundance of petalite within the dump sample, the mineral is easily liberated, particulate and potentially recoverable by gravity separation, AfriTin said in a statement on Monday.
Petalite concentrate commands a premium in the market as it can contain up to 4.4% lithium oxide. The crystal structure of petalite limits the occurrence of impurities when compared with spodumene, which generally contains higher concentrations of iron and other contaminants.
Further work will be undertaken to determine the economics of exploiting the lithium.
“We are delighted by the discovery of geologically significant grades of lithium-bearing material at our Nainais deposit,” AfriTin CEO Anthony Viljoen commented in a statement on Monday.
“Although the lithium discovery at the ML133 licence is not of immediate priority for the company, it does provide us with a considerable upside target for the company to explore in the future. Lithium remains a major industrial mineral in battery storage technologies and exploitation of lithium from this licence area could potentially contribute value to the company in the future.”