Canada-based Mkango Resources has announced that it plans to start its 2017 exploration programme in the Thambani licence area of Malawi in the next few months.
This programme will include follow-up of results from World Bank's airborne geophysics survey reported in 2016 and of earlier exploration programmes completed by Mkango.
It will include further mapping, soil and rock chip sampling, trenching and ground truthing of new geophysical anomalies.
While the exploration programme's primary focus is uranium and associated tantalum and niobium, Mkango will analyse the license for its lithium potential.
The Thambani licence area carries pegmatite occurrences, which can be a potential host rock for lithium.
Moreover, historical reports indicate an occurrence of a lithium mineral in the licence area. However, these need further geological investigation to determine the area's significance.
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By GlobalDataThe company aims to commence field work after the end of the rainy season in Malawi, which is usually in late February or early March.
All costs related to the work programme will be covered out of existing cash resources.
Mkango president Alexander Lemon said: "The market is clearly seeing renewed interest in uranium projects in recent months following moves by Kazakhstan to cut production and the increasingly apparent lack of supply for new reactors being brought online over the next five years in countries such as India and China.
"Our strategy for the project remains to bring in a joint venture partner, but we believe that we will enhance value for our shareholders in the near-term by pushing ahead with a clearly defined, low-cost exploration programme following the end of the rainy season in Malawi. We look forward to updating shareholders in the near-future.”
Mkango stated that with regard to the Songwe Hill rare earths project, it will provide an update on flow sheet optimisation in due course.