Key highlights

  • Berkeley Energia (ASX:BKY) shares fell 16.48% to $0.76 during the Trading session on 20 October 2026.
  • The 30 July 2026 Quarterly Report covered a maiden Inferred resource at Conchas of 11.8Mt at 0.41% Li2O and 0.21% Rb2O.
  • The report also listed A$62 million in cash, no debt, and a mid-2027 hearing date in the arbitration against Spain.

During the trading session on 20 October 2026, shares of Berkeley Energia Limited (ASX:BKY) fell 16.48% to $0.76. Separately, on 30 July 2026, the company released its Quarterly Report for June 2026, which set out progress on its critical minerals exploration initiative in Spain, developments in the Spanish nuclear sector and the status of its international arbitration claim. The two events took place on different dates and are not presented here as connected.

About Berkeley Energia Limited

Berkeley Energia is an ASX-listed company with offices in Perth, Western Australia, and Salamanca, Spain. Its quarterly report describes an exploration initiative aimed at critical and battery minerals within existing tenements in western Spain, alongside a long-running dispute with the Kingdom of Spain over its Salamanca Project.

The company is pursuing the exploration work while the legal process continues, and the report states that its Spanish Subsidiary remains open to constructive dialogue with Spanish authorities.

Conchas maiden resource estimate

The report states that, after the end of the June quarter, Berkeley announced a maiden Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate for the Conchas Project of 11.8 million tonnes at 0.41% lithium oxide (Li2O) and 0.21% rubidium oxide (Rb2O). That equates to roughly 49,000 tonnes of contained Li2O and about 25,200 tonnes of contained Rb2O, reported above a US$100 per tonne net smelter return cut-off.

All of the estimate sits in the Inferred category, the lowest level of geological confidence under the JORC Code (2012 Edition). It was prepared by independent consultants Maja Mining Limited and is constrained by an open-pit optimisation shell. The mineralisation begins at surface and remains open at depth, and preliminary metallurgical testing using flotation and magnetic separation reported recoveries of lithium and rubidium at acceptable grades.

Exploration history at Conchas

The Conchas Investigation Permit covers 31 square kilometres in the southwest of Salamanca province, close to the Portuguese border. Since 2021 the company has carried out soil sampling, geological mapping, geophysics and two drilling campaigns: five reverse circulation holes for 282 metres in 2022, and 33 reverse circulation holes for 1,857 metres plus three diamond holes for 230 metres in 2024.

Drilling outlined sub-horizontal layers, with mineralised muscovitic leucogranite ranging from 8 metres to 45 metres in vertical thickness over the southern and central parts of the deposit and up to 70 metres in the north.

Spanish nuclear sector and the arbitration claim

The report also summarises developments in Spain’s nuclear industry. In July 2026 the Nuclear Safety Council approved a licence extension for the Almaraz plant to June 2030, with its report now passing to the ministry for a final decision. The ministry also renewed the Juzbado fuel fabrication plant’s authorisation for ten years.

On the arbitration, Berkeley’s subsidiary filed a Memorial of Claim in February 2026 seeking compensation in the order of US$1.25 billion under the Energy Charter Treaty. The tribunal has agreed to split the case into two phases, starting with Spain’s jurisdictional objections, with a hearing on that phase scheduled for mid-2027. The report lists cash of A$62 million and no debt.

Sector backdrop

Lithium is classified as a critical and strategic material by the European Union because of its role in batteries, while rubidium is listed as a critical mineral in several jurisdictions for use in advanced technology and defence applications. Early-stage resources of this kind generally require further drilling, metallurgical work, permitting and funding before any development decision can be taken.

Spanish uranium and nuclear policy has been the subject of ongoing public debate, including the scheduling of reactor closures and the extension requests lodged by plant owners.

Risks shareholders should weigh

The Conchas estimate is entirely Inferred, so there is no certainty that further exploration will upgrade it. Rubidium is a small and specialised market, and the report notes that only preliminary metallurgical testing has been completed.

The arbitration is split into phases, and the first deals with jurisdictional objections raised by Spain. The outcome of that phase, and of any later phase, cannot be predicted. Permitting for mineral projects in Spain remains subject to regulatory processes, and the company has stated that its permitting position for the Salamanca Project is unresolved.

The company’s share price is also exposed to the general Volatility of small-cap exploration stocks, as shown by the 16.48% move on 20 October 2026.

What’s next

According to the report, the denial-of-benefits hearing in the arbitration is scheduled for mid-2027, following written submissions from both sides. The company is also continuing to analyse the wider region for further targets, and a final ministerial decision on the Almaraz extension is still pending.