10 February 2026

Switch Metals plc

("Switch Metals" or the "Company")

Additional Tantalum-Rich Alluvial Targets Identified at Issia

Switch Metals (AIM: SWT), the critical metals company focused on tantalum and lithium in the Côte d'Ivoire, is pleased to announce the identification of additional tantalum-rich alluvial targets at its Issia project, following the completion of its targeted alluvial work programme.

The Issia Project forms part of Switch Metals' 1,015 km² district-scale land package in central Côte d'Ivoire, covering a highly prospective pegmatite corridor with demonstrated tantalum and lithium mineralisation. The newly identified alluvial targets sit within the Company's 112 km² Badinikro licence, the initial focus of the Company's exploration programme, adding further near-surface upside in addition to the eluvial and colluvial targets currently being advanced toward a maiden Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE").

Highlights

·    Additional 7 km² of prospective alluvial drainage basins identified, adding shallow, free-dig, near-term resource growth potential at Issia.

·    Results are incremental to the maiden MRE underway, focused on eluvial and colluvial target zones.

·    Shallow alluvial targets are amenable to low-cost mining and processing using conventional gravity separation.

·    Tantalum ("Ta") anomalous basins align with the interpreted 16 km-long Issia pegmatite corridor, reinforcing confidence in the geological model and hard rock pegmatite potential.

·    Drainage basins surrounding the Kabore spodumene discovery also show elevated tantalum responses.

·    Follow up work will include systematic pitting of 28 priority drainage basins, with the aim of delineating additional shallow tantalum resources to support early-stage cashflow development planning.

Background

The alluvial targeting programme comprised systematic pitting across all delineated drainage basins delineated at Issia, covering a total surface area of 2,763 hectares (27.63 km²) (see Figure 1 below).

Each sample comprised a six-pan (0.042 m³) bulk sample, manually washed to produce a heavy mineral concentrate. Concentrates were analysed on-site using a portable X-ray Fluorescence device ("pXRF").

Tantalum anomalous basins identified

pXRF results have highlighted 28 priority drainage basins exceeding a technical cut-off grade of 1.5 g/m³ Ta, with elevated tantalum and niobium (coltan) values. These priority basins cover a combined area of 7.04 km² (see figure 1).

Importantly, the most anomalous drainage basins fit within the previously interpreted 16 km-long Issia pegmatite corridor trending northwest to southeast. This observation supports the interpretation of Issia as a district-scale tantalum system, where shallow placer mineralisation is derived from the historic weathering of tantalum-rich hard rock pegmatites located adjacent to or beneath the free-dig preliminary resource targets. 

Next steps

The identification of these additional alluvial targets builds on ongoing near-surface work at Issia, where systematic pitting and pilot wash-plant processing are already underway in support of the maiden MRE.

The follow-up programme will focus on bulk sampling and recovery tests using the Company's pilot wash plant. It will include systematic pitting across each priority drainage basin to delineate additional shallow tantalum resources and further evaluate the scale and continuity of near-surface mineralisation at Issia which will feed into the Company's early cashflow development plan.

Karl Akueson, CEO of Switch Metals plc commented:

"A key objective of this programme was to demonstrate the scale and continuity of the tantalum mineralisation at Issia. The delineation of multiple additional tantalum anomalous drainage basins confirms the district-scale nature of the system and highlights the potential for shallow, low-cost resource growth alongside the work already underway."

"These additional tantalum basins covering 7 km² are located within our 112 km² Badinikro licence, which forms part of a much larger 1,015 km² district-scale land package with similar geological characteristics. As we continue to apply systematic exploration methods across Issia, we remain confident in its potential to support a significant, conflict-free tantalum development opportunity."

Figure 1: Location of anomalous drainage basins within Issia's Badinikro licence

Figure 2: Schematic of eluvial (and colluvial), alluvial and hard rock LCT (Lithium-Caesium-Tantalum) pegmatite contexts typical of the interpreted Issia coltan district

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