Titan Lithium Inc, a US-based company, plans to expand its operations in Tanzania following the discovery of lithium deposits in the region. The company has found lithium deposits in two locations south of Mount Kilimanjaro that have the potential to make Tanzania one of the world’s leading countries in lithium production.
The results of the initial soil geochemical samplings conducted by the company showed high lithium grades of up to 2.79% lithium oxide.
The discovery of lithium deposits is significant for the clean energy transition, as lithium is a critical mineral in the manufacture of batteries used in emerging technologies, including electric vehicles.
The company is now seeking formal drilling approvals from the authorities, and while there is no specific timeline for starting proper drilling, the company is committed to pursuing further follow-up.
According to the East African Newspaper, Tanzania has had past lithium discoveries, but they have been restricted to the Mohanga area near Dodoma, where two Australian multinationals have established stakes. In 2017, Liontown Resources identified lithium deposits with values exceeding 1.5% lithium oxide in Mohanga, while in July 2022, Cassius Mining Ltd acquired prospecting licences covering about 300 square kilometres in the same area.
The Titan 1 and Titan 2 project areas in the Mt Kilimanjaro region cover about 200 square kilometres. Titan Lithium Chairman Harp Sangha told the paper that, “surface samplings have indicated high-value lithium over extensive distances, and we’re still in the process of defining the boundaries of the discovery across the entire area.”
The larger Titan 1 prospect is morphologically and depositionally similar to Titan Lithium’s main West End Lithium project in Nevada, USA, which the company says ranks as one of the largest lithium resources in the world.
According to Craig Alford, CEO of Titan Lithium, “The size and strength of the lithium anomaly at Titan 1 is particularly exceptional as it is within an area that has had no previous exploration.” The company announced that further sampling work at the Titan 1 property had returned “pervasive high-grade lithium over an area measuring eight kilometres by three kilometres, which will be a priority drill target for our future planned exploration efforts.”
Titan Lithium on February 27 announced that it had entered into an agreement with Kilimanjaro Lithium, which grants it exclusive rights to “earn up to a 100% interest in several prospecting licences” covering the two project areas. However, under Tanzania’s current mining laws, the government has the right to at least 16% ownership in any mining venture, with an option to increase its stake to 50%.