Askari Metals starts the drills again this Monday at its lithium project in Namibia

The exploration team at Askari Metals (ASX:AS2) kicked off a supersized mapping and sampling fieldwork at its Uis Lithium Project on Thursday, specifically targeting acreage under licence EPL7345. 

That licence is the first of the Uis project, with Askari acquiring a second late last year (EPL8535). 

Drilling has already been undertaken (and remains ongoing) under the former permit. But today’s activities see Askari beef up its sampling and mapping campaign to a project-wide scope. 

That’s no mean  is not a particularly small feat. The scope in question?: 308sq.km. 

Drills, drills, drills

“The detailed mapping and sampling program on EPL 7345 is an integral part of Askari’s exploration plan for the Project as we look to commence Phase II drilling in the short term,” Askari exploration chief Johan Lambrechts said. 

“While the mapping team commences work on EPL 7345, the Company is also gearing up for the inaugural RC drilling campaign on EPL 8535.” 

Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling will kick off at the second licence next week. RC drilling collects rock chips in a chamber from underground and is different to Diamond Drilling (DD) which returns whole cylindrical cores to surface. 

RC is typically used in first-pass drilling operations. 

Spodumene confirmed 

The company is chasing after lithium spodumene outcrops on-site. 

So far, the company is sitting on over 150 known targets.

Hard-rock lithium in spodumene pegmatite is generally considered a holy grail, given that downstream processing is well understood and at scale. 

Lithium derived from spodumene is one of the major sources of lithium oxide into EV battery supply chain ecosystems. 

A look at Askari's three month charts

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