Aterian plc announced that it has been granted a new Prospecting Licence within the highly prospective Kalahari Copper Belt in the Republic of Botswana. The newly awarded licence is strategically located adjacent to exploration licences held by Sandfire Resources ("Sandfire"), a leading copper producer in the region, strengthens Aterian's rapidly growing copper portfolio and materially enhances the scale and optionality of its Botswana platform. Key Highlights: New PL, covers 396.24km2, valid for three years, renewable thereafter.
Adjacent to Sandfire Resources exploration projects. Evidence for several historical copper-in-soil anomalies. Total KCB portfolio currently stands at 11 PLs covering 2,694.58 km2.
The KCB portfolio, including the new PL, will be reviewed under the new Lithosquare JV. Total Botswana landholding, including the Sua Pan lithium brine project, now stands at 5,211.51km2. The licence, covering approximately 396.24 km2, was granted for an initial three-year period, renewable thereafter, and was held by Atlantis Metals (Pty) Ltd. ("Atlantis"), a 90%-owned subsidiary of the Company.
The PL potentially hosts geological and structural characteristics consistent with copper-silver mineralisation known across the KCB. Several copper-in-soil anomaly (> 18 ppm) are identified in historical MOD Resources reports (Q4/2017 Report). An initial review of available datasets is underway to identify prospective zones that warrant systematic exploration.
This award follows the Company's recently announced Joint Venture with Lithosquare ("L Lithosquare JV"), which is designed to accelerate exploration funding and development across Aterian's Botswana and Morocco portfolio. The addition of this new PL provides further scale, increasing the optionality available under the JV structure, supporting the Company's strategy to build a robust pipeline of critical metal opportunities in a tier-one mining jurisdiction.
