Walkabout Resources corrals more lithium ground in Namibia

Walkabout Resources (ASX: WKT) has gained more lithium ground in Namibia after clinching a binding agreement to earn-in to a prospecting licence adjacent to its 100%-owned Walkabout licences in the country’s south.

The agreement was secured with a local company and will form part of Walkabout’s Eureka lithium project.

Once executed, the new licence (EPL5691) will expand the project to 2,000 square kilometres and cover Namibia’s Orange River Pegmatite Belt, including 90km of pegmatite strike.

According to Walkabout, the new licence has more than 120 of newly mapped pegmatites clustered in two areas.

Initial agreement terms include an initial 51% earn-in which can be upped to 75% following Walkabout establishing a maiden JORC-compliant resource on the licence.

In return for the 51% stake, Walkabout must spend A$200,000 on exploration and a further A$10,000 if it elects to develop an inferred resource.

“The inclusion of EPL5691 into the Eureka lithium project, and, more importantly, the addition of vast amounts of previously unmapped and unsampled pegmatites strengthens the company’s position and our intention is to assemble a dominant holding for lithium prospectivity within Namibia,” Walkabout executive chairman Trevor Benson said.

The earn-in remains subject to due diligence and will begin exploration as soon as that has been completed.

Walkabout secured its second licence Namibia in November after securing the first one in March last year.

The three licences are less than 30km from Orange River and the South African boarder.

Additionally, Walkabout stated it was in ongoing discussions with other landholders in the region regarding further acquisitions.

As well as the Eureka project, Walkabout’s other assets include its flagship Lindi jumbo graphite project in Tanzania where the company has a 70% interest in four licences and an option to purchase the remaining 30% stake.

A revised definitive feasibility study during the September 2017 quarter has estimated capital start-up costs for Lindi of about US$29.6 million.

By close of trade today, Walkabout’s stock price had risen more than 26% to end the day at A$0.12.