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(Alliance News) - Berkeley Energia Ltd on Tuesday said it has begun an initial drill programme across its sizeable licence holding in western Spain, looking for critical battery and electric vehicle metals.
Shares in Berkeley Energia were up 5.1% at 20.50 pence in morning trade.
The miner has commenced its initial 6-hole campaign, which is part of a wider 13-hole programme totalling 3,350 metres and targeting lithium, tin, cobalt, and tungsten. Berkeley Energia is also targeting rare earth elements, noting that several of these elements have been "mined in commercial quantities in the area".
Berkeley Energia has more than 12,000 square kilometres of licences in Spain and has chosen its drill targets using a two-year period of detailed exploration combined with an ionic leach programme. Ionic leaching makes possible the "ultra-low detection of metals and minerals", as well as cutting down the amount of drilling needed by identifying targets.
The first target in the licence is located 50 kilometres from Retortillo, which has already been mined for high-grade lithium and tin and contains "significant cobalt anomalies".
Alongside its three recently announced new Spanish exploration licences, Berkeley Energia has also been awarded a 31 kilometre squared licences containing former titanium and lithium operations. It is next to an area already being drilled under Berkeley Energia's present programme.
"The commencement of an exploration programme for battery and EV metals is an important step as it allows the company to build on the excellent work the team has done in generating targets across our large licence holding over the past two years," said Managing Director & Chief Executive Paul Atherley.