Pioneer Lithium Ltd has announced an Exploration Target at its Warmbad Uranium Project in southern Namibia, with estimates ranging between 22.22 and 32.11 million tonnes of uranium-bearing material, grading 100 to 120 parts per million (ppm) U₃O₈.
Located in Namibia’s southern uranium corridor, the project is being positioned as a key pillar in the Australian company’s broader expansion strategy.
“The Exploration Target allows Pioneer to present an initial, quantifiable range of uranium mineralisation at Warmbad, based on historic work completed by Xemplar Energy,” said Pioneer CEO Michael Beven.
“The Exploration Target has significant room to increase as all known areas of uranium mineralisation are open in multiple directions.”
According to Beven, the target was modelled using more than 31,000 metres of historical drilling carried out by Xemplar Energy between 2007 and 2009.
The mineralisation is hosted within alaskitic granites across four main zones – Areas 1, 3, 3 Extension and 5 – all of which remain open, suggesting strong potential for further expansion.
A conservative modelling approach was applied using modern geostatistical methods and 3D modelling by Hyland Geological and Mining Consultants. Estimates were based on a cut-off grade of 80 ppm U₃O₈, supported by anomalous XRF assay data. The block models were interpolated using Ordinary Kriging, with a 100-metre extrapolation applied to account for geological continuity.
“Additionally, multiple areas of granite and alaskite intrusive are recorded in the project area that remain untested,” Beven said. However, he noted that the quality of regional-scale radiometric surveys conducted in 2007 by Xemplar was too low to support their inclusion in the current model.
To upgrade the Exploration Target to a JORC-compliant Mineral Resource, Pioneer plans a multi-phase strategy including verification drilling, step-out drilling to expand mineralised zones, a high-resolution drone survey, and exploration of untested intrusive zones and potential sedimentary-hosted uranium in paleochannels.
The 271 km² project area is held under Exclusive Prospecting Licence 8838, which is valid through July 2027. The licence is 100% owned by Mistletoe Investments (Pty) Ltd, a Namibian-registered entity.
Pioneer says it has received strong backing from regional authorities in Warmbad and Karasburg.
While Namibia is already home to major uranium operations such as Rossing, the Warmbad project’s structurally controlled alaskite mineralisation is considered analogous, with underexplored potential.
The company is re-evaluating historical radiometric survey data that previously excluded several intrusive bodies now being reassessed.
“Growth opportunities include step-out drilling at the existing areas of known mineralisation, discovery of new pods where granites and alaskites are shown to be ‘hot’, and the possibility of sedimentary-hosted uranium in paleochannels,” Beven added.
Pioneer Lithium is an Australian-listed company engaged in uranium and lithium exploration across Namibia, Canada, and the United States.
