(Ecofin Agency) – The importance of lithium in the manufacture of electric cars has in recent years led to a rush to Africa, one of the last regions where this resource is under-exploited. DRC, Mali and above all Zimbabwe are in pole position, but other countries are attracting investors.
The Australian mining junior Arcadia Minerals published on Wednesday August 24 a new estimate of mineral resources in accordance with the JORC code. This update indicates that its Bitterwasser lithium project in Namibia hosts 85.2 million tonnes of inferred resources grading 663 parts per million, or 286,909 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalents (LCE).
This is, we learn, an increase of around 560% in the resource and 430% in the metal content compared to the November 2021 estimate. It is the result of data collected thanks to 77 drill holes and 486 samples. “This resource is found in the first twelve meters of the surface […] and covers only one of the fourteen known clay basins in the region“says Philip le Roux, CEO of Arcadia.
It should be noted that these results encourage the company to continue with its pilot project for the production of lithium carbonate in collaboration with the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa. This is to confirm that the Bitterwasser resource can be used as a material in the manufacture of batteries for electric vehicles.
As a reminder, Mining represents about 10% of the GDP and more than 50% of Namibian exports. Long dominated by diamonds and uranium, the mining sector is entering a phase of diversification that the energy transition and its need for copper and lithium (two under-exploited resources for one and untapped for the other) can facilitate .
Emiliano Tossou