Andrada Mining Limited, the critical minerals producer with mining and exploration assets in Namibia, says the exploration drilling at the Lithium Ridge project in partnership with Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA through its subsidiary SQM Australia [Pty] Ltd has commenced.

This milestone represents part of the stage 1 workplan of the three stage earn-in agreement with SQM.

Under this first stage, SQM will fund up to US$7 million in exploration to secure an initial 30% interest at project level with the potential to fund up to US$40m million over the three stages.

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HIGHLIGHTS

• 14 000 metres of Orientated Diamond Drilling [“DD”] underway across priority lithium targets.
• High resolution geological mapping and sampling already identifying new pegmatites with visible spodumene mineralisation.
• Programme builds on historical results of up to 2.13% Li₂O along a 6 km mineralised ridgeline.

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Anthony Viljoen, Chief Executive Officer, commented:

“The commencement of drilling at Lithium Ridge with our tier-1 joint-venture partner, SQM, is a significant step forward in unlocking one of Namibia’s most exciting lithium opportunities.

 The encouraging historical results of up to 2.13% Li₂O along the 6km ridge line, are already being complemented by a new geological mapping and sampling programme that has identified additional mineralised pegmatites containing visible spodumene crystals.

This strengthens our confidence in the scale and quality of the project. The investment by SQM underscores Lithium Ridge’s potential and Namibia’s growing role in the global supply of critical minerals.

We expect this programme to provide the foundation for fast-tracking the project towards development.”

LITHIUM RIDGE EXPLORATION PROGRAMME

The Lithium Ridge mining licence is located only 35 kilometres from Andrada’s producing Uis tin mine and hosts multiple high-priority lithium-bearing pegmatites, with associated tin and tantalum credits.

The current programme is designed to:

• Unlock the full potential of the mineralised ridge and,
• Extend exploration across the wider licence area where new spodumene – bearing pegmatites have been identified.

The 14 000 metre DD programme will comprise approximately 120 orientated holes, to determine the depth extensions and continuity of the extensive mineralisation already identified at surface.

Historical work confirmed grades of up to 2.13% Li₂O and metallurgical spodumene recoveries of up to 80%, producing a premium 6.8% Li₂O concentrate with low iron levels.

These results were on drill chip samples produced during reverse circulation drilling at Lithium Ridge. This programme is expected to significantly enhance the geological understanding of Lithium Ridge and demonstrate its economic potential as a large-scale, high quality lithium project.