London-listed Aterian has announced a significant expansion of its high-potential copper and silver exploration portfolio following the award of three new prospecting licences in the world-renowned Kalahari Copperbelt (KCB), in Botswana.

The prospecting licences are held by the company's 90%-owned subsidiary Atlantis Metals and target sediment-hosted copper and silver mineralisation.

The company says the licences are in a region attracting strong global interest from major copper exploration and mining companies.

"This strategic expansion represents a meaningful step in enhancing portfolio value for our shareholders. By increasing our presence in the Kalahari Copperbelt, Aterian gains exposure to one of the world's most prospective copper/silver regions,” says Aterian chairperson Charles Bray.

“With copper demand accelerating due to the global energy transition, Aterian is strongly positioned to advance these exploration assets and contribute to the future supply of critical metals.

“We remain focused on advancing our portfolio and pursuing strategic partnerships or transactions that have the potential to deliver significant value for our shareholders,” he adds.

The three new prospecting licences, covering a total area of 329.16 km² are granted for an initial three-year term and can be renewed twice thereafter for an additional two years per renewal.

Upon each renewal, Aterian says 50% of the licence area must be relinquished. The KCB portfolio now comprises ten prospecting licences covering a total area of 2 298.34 km².

The company notes that the licences target the highly prospective lower D'Kar Formation, known to host regionally significant copper/silver deposits.

An independent consultancy is currently acquiring historical airborne geophysical raw line data for the new licences to reprocess this information for Atlantis.

Aterian says this effort is expected to improve its understanding of the underlying geological formations.

“By mapping the contact between the D'Kar Formation and the underlying red beds of the Ngwako Pan Formation through geophysical interpretation, we aim to generate more accurate targets,” the company says.