Metals & Minerals News

Arkle awarded Makgadikgadi lithium licences

Arkle Resources plc has broadened its lithium exploration portfolio with two licences in the salt pans of northeast Botswana.

TARGETS

PL075/2023 and PL0148/2023, covering 312 and 525km2 respectively, lie in the Makgadikgadi salt pans.

The company said that very little was known about the potential for lithium brines at the site.

Initial prospecting is planned for early 2024.

Chairman John Teeling added: “We are really pleased to have been awarded these two large licences in the Makgadikgadi salt pans.

“We now have three lithium exploration projects, one in Ireland, one in Zimbabwe, both hard rock, and now in Botswana which is a lithium brines project.

“Initial work will focus on analysis of the very limited exploration data, followed by prospecting to identify targets for drilling.”

Unesco describes the Makgadikgadi salt pans as the largest in the world, covering more than 30,000 km2, and one of the former largest inland seas.