Business
Commissioning of Pilot Wash Plant Completed
Switch Metals PLC has successfully commissioned its pilot wash plant at the Issia Project, a significant step towards resource definition and early commercial validation of its tantalum operations in Côte d'Ivoire. This milestone enables the processing of approximately 400 tonnes of collected eluvial material, supporting the delivery of a maiden Mineral Resource Estimate targeted for early 2026. The company is also advancing other projects, including Bouaké and Tiassalé, and has established a strategic collaboration with Xcelsior Capital Advisors, partnered with Wogen Resources, to enhance commercial insight and market access for its critical metals. Disclaimer*
About this update from Switch Metals Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n15 December 2025\n \nSwitch Metals plc\n(\"Switch Metals\" or the \"Company\")\n \nCommissioning of Pilot Wash Plant Completed\nA key step towards Resource definition\n \nSwitch Metals (LSE: SWT), the critical metals focused mining company operating in Côte d'Ivoire, is pleased to announce that commissioning of its pilot wash plant at the Issia Project has been completed and the plant is now fully operational.\nThis milestone represents a key step in Switch's strategy to establish a scalable and ethical source of tantalum, a critical metal for the global electronics and aerospace industries, at a time when an estimated 60-70% of global supply continues to originate from the DRC and Rwanda, countries associated with increasing supply-chain risk, ESG scrutiny and traceability challenges.\n \nHighlights\n· Pilot wash plant at Issia successfully commissioned and fully operational;\n· Marks a transition from exploration phase to structured resource definition and early commercial validation;\n· Supports delivery of a maiden Mineral Resource Estimate (\"MRE\") at Issia targeted for early 2026;\n· Enables processing of extensive eluvial material already collected during the pitting programme;\n· Resource target zones are well understood and initial indications are encouraging; and\n· Assay results will be announced in batches over the coming weeks.\n \nKarl Akueson, CEO of Switch Metals commented:\n\"The successful commissioning of our pilot wash plant at Issia marks a pivotal moment as we transition from surface exploration into structured resource definition. Over several years, we have assembled and secured a district-scale land position at Issia covering more than 1,000 km², an area comparable to around two-thirds of Greater London.\n\"Within this footprint, the Badinikro permit alone covers 112 km² and hosts shallow eluvial coltan mineralisation confirmed through extensive pitting. The pilot wash plant now allows us to process the large volume of material collected, generate the datasets required for our maiden resource and produce representative concentrates as part of the MRE process.\n\"With global tantalum supply still dominated by the DRC and Rwanda, and downstream users increasingly focused...