Tsodilo Resources Limited, the Canadian mineral exploration company, has confirmed a significant rare earth and critical minerals discovery in Botswana, positioning Canada within an intensifying global competition led by the United States and China to secure strategic supply chains.
According to the company, the high-grade deposit, found at the Gchwihaba Metals project, contains all 15 US-listed rare earth elements plus copper, cobalt, nickel, vanadium, and silver. The find follows systematic exploration of the C26 and C27 targets and confirms a high-grade polymetallic system located between 20 and 50 metres below the surface, a depth that could support commercial extraction if further studies prove viable.
Tsodilo said the deposits contain 15 rare earth elements along with five other critical minerals; copper, cobalt, nickel, vanadium and silver. Technical analysis shows the C26 and C27 skarns contain all 15 rare earth elements listed on the U.S. Geological Survey’s 2025 Critical Minerals List. “The targets were originally identified as geophysical anomalies through ground magnetic and gravity surveys.
Subsequent diamond core drilling has confirmed that these anomalies host skarn-type mineralisation containing an extensive suite of minerals,” the company said. Rare earth elements are essential in the production of electric vehicles, wind turbines, battery storage systems, defence electronics and advanced telecommunications infrastructure.