Tsodilo Resources Limited has announced a partnership with University of Cape Town (UCT)’s Department of Geological Sciences to fast-track the evaluation of the Gcwihaba critical minerals and rare earth elements project in Botswana’s North West District.
In a statement released this week, Tsodilo Resources announced that the collaboration with UCT will identify and quantify rare earth elements-bearing mineral phases using automated mineralogy and determine major and trace element compositions of key minerals.
The collaboration will also constrain the distribution of rare earth elements at the mineral scale, use oxygen isotope geochemistry to infer the origin of ore-forming fluids and develop a genetic model for and Rare Earth Elements mineralization in the Gcwihaba skarn system.
According to the company, the program will apply an integrated analytical approach combining automated mineralogy (QEMSCAN), microanalytical geochemistry (EPMA, LA-ICP-MS), and isotopic analysis (oxygen isotopes) to characterize Rare Earth Elements mineralization and associated fluid systems.
In a statement, Tsodilo Resources Chairman and CEO, James Bruchs said that partnering with UCT will help fast-track the evaluation of the Gcwihaba critical minerals and rare earth elements project, strengthening their understanding of the system and supporting the potential expansion of known mineralisation. He stated that the Skarn project has demonstrated the presence of a wide range of rare earth elements and additional critical minerals identified on the USGS 2025 critical minerals list.
“We will also be engaging the scientists and technicians from Botswana Institute for Technology Research & Innovation (BITRI) and Botswana Geoscience Institute (BGI), with respect to sample preparation and analysis where possible,” said Bruchs.
Tsodilo Resources stated that the mineralogical and geochemical data generated through the UCT program will establish a high-confidence calibration framework supporting the development and validation of data-driven exploration models and improving the interpretation of existing datasets.
The company stated that preliminary analysis of legacy drill hole data indicates consistent associations between rare earth elements mineralization and a suite of pathfinder elements, suggesting a structured mineral system with potential for proxy-based targeting.
“The UCT program will help refine and validate these relationships, supporting the identification of the most effective predictive proxies and priority geological domains for critical minerals and rare earth elements exploration within the Gcwihaba project. These datasets will also support ongoing internal modelling efforts and collaborative data-driven approaches with Battelle, helping to refine and improve predictive exploration approaches,” reads the statement.
The analytical work by UCT will characterise rare earth elements ore mineralogy and constrain the genesis of the mineralizing system using an integrated approach. The study will identify rare earth elements -bearing phases, quantify their distribution, and determine the source and evolution of ore-forming fluids, using oxygen isotopes.
This work is expected to contribute to the first detailed mineralogical and isotopic characterisation of rare earth elements-bearing skarn mineralisation in Ngamiland, improving understanding of mineral hosts, fluid systems, and ore-forming processes, and contributing to broader exploration models for rare earth elements-enriched skarn systems.
Tsodilo Resources Limited is an international mineral resource exploration company engaged in the search for economic metal deposits at its Gcwihaba Resources (Pty) Limited (“Gcwihaba”) projects in Botswana. The Company has a 100% stake in its Gcwihaba project area consisting of five metal (base, precious, platinum group, and rare earth) prospecting licenses all located in the North-West District of Botswana.
