Basin East Drilling & Wikieup South Update

RNS Number : 1743D

Bradda Head Lithium Ltd

18 October 2022

 

18 October 2022

                                 Bradda Head Lithium Ltd

("Bradda Head", "Bradda", "BHL" or the "Company")

Basin East Drilling & Wikieup South Update

Bradda Head Lithium Ltd. (AIM:BHL, OTCQB:BHLIF) ("Bradda Head" or the "Company"), the North America-focused lithium development company, announces the completion of a further step-out drilling phase at its Basin East (BE) lithium in clay project in Arizona as well as a reduction of claims at Wikieup South.

Summary

· Bradda Head has now received all assay results from its 14-hole, 1,200m, sonic drilling programme completed at BE earlier this year. Promising intervals were identified including hole BES-22-01 with 14m at 1,221ppm, and hole BES-22-02 with 16m at 1,512ppm. Full results in table below.

·   The programme comprised of some infill drilling plus some expansion drilling, both aimed at increasing knowledge, size and classification of resources at the Basin Project. A map of hole locations can be seen at (https://www.braddaheadltd.com/media).

·   The results are being correlated by the independent geological consultants SRK before being included in an updated Basin MRE later this year.

· Following on from its success in upgrading the preliminary Li in Clay Resource at Basin East earlier this year (see PR dated 29^th March 2022), an extensive 30-hole drilling programme is also planned for the remainder of 2022 at Basin East Extension ("BEE") and Basin North ("BN"). Permits have been received and drilling should start shortly, the results of which will also inform a further resource update in early 2023.

· Both these resource updates will form part of the resource for our Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA).

· Importantly for future resource growth, the Mineral Resource at BE remains open to the west and northwest of the drilled area where BHL has the adjacent BEE claim block and beyond into BHL's BN, Basin West ("BW") and Basin West Extension ("BWE") claim blocks where geological mapping and geophysical surveys suggest that similar clay strata are present.

· As announced previously, SRK has determined an Exploration Target of between 300 to 1,300 Mt of material grading between 600 to 850 ppm Lithium ("Li") identified covering the claims BN, BE, BEE and BW and BWE. This target is equivalent to a range of between 1 to 6 Mt LCE.

·   Bradda is targeting to grow its resources at its Basin project this year and next with the upcoming drill programmes at BEE and BN. Bradda has two royalty payments due from expanding its resources at its clay claims (see PR dated 22 December 2021). The next payment of US$2.5 million is paid on Bradda expanding its resource base to 1Mt LCE (Lithium Carbonate Equivalent), and then the third payment of US$3 million is achieved when Bradda expands its resource base to 2.5Mt LCE. Bradda is working with its geologists to hit these targets as soon as is feasible with the programmes mentioned above and the planned programmes in 2023 at Basin West and Basin West Extension.

· See PR dated 29^th March 2022 for more information on the updated Mineral Resource estimate ("MRE") at BE, and map at https://www.braddaheadltd.com/mediafor more information on Basin in Arizona.

· The Company has also been notified by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) t hat its claims over portions of the Wikieup South claim block, equating to 5.4km², are no longer valid due to the mineral rights being owned by a 3^rd party, and should not have been allowed to be staked by Bradda in July 2021.This has now been resolved. The ownership of the Company's other sedimentary claims at Wikieup and Basin are unaffected by this.

Charles FitzRoy, CEO of Bradda Head Lithium, commented:

"These further results from Basin East are a significant addition to the existing resource base that we have established at our Basin project. The results should bolster our Basin MRE and further demonstrate the potential in the ground of our clay assets and we are particularly excited about the intervals shown in holes BES-22-01 and BES-22-02, both located on the western side of BE near the BEE where Bradda will be starting drilling shortly.

"This is an exciting time for BHL as we embark on drilling at BEE and BN, further adding to the resource growth potential at the Basin Project in Arizona, which has an exploration target of up to 6Mt of LCE.

"With regards to the reduction of our claims at Wikieup, the permitting system in the US can be a complicated one and situations like we have at Wikieup South are not uncommon. This does not in any way effect the potential of what we believe is inherent at our Wikieup claims. Options to lease this acreage are being looked at, and the team is currently carrying out some geological analysis to gain a greater understanding of the areas under consideration."

Basin Project

A 14-hole sonic drill programme was completed earlier this year, all assays are now received and SRK are conducting analysis on the results, with a view to releasing an updated MRE before the end of 2022.

An extensive 30-hole drilling programme is planned for the remainder of 2022 at BEE and BN with permits received and drilling should start shortly, the results of which will also inform a further resource update in early 2023. A map of the drill holes can be seen at (https://www.braddaheadltd.com/media)

In March 2022, based on only 1,110m of 2021 drilling at its BE claim in Arizona, Bradda Head added 120 kt of LCE to the original maiden Mineral Resource which previously totalled 185 kt LCE, for an updated total LCE content of 305 kt. The 2021 exploration drilling, and core logging also identified a High-Grade zone within the current MRE of 58 kt at c.1,300 ppm Li. This had significant benefit in identifying and locating the next round of drilling targets.

Bradda Head has been awarded permission by the state of Arizona to drill a total of 120 holes at its BEE sedimentary claims in Central Arizona. Drilling of the first phase (20 holes) is expected to commence shortly. Bradda has also been granted permission to drill 10 holes at its BN federal claim, where drilling is also planned to start this quarter.

An Exploration Target for the entire Basin Project of between 300 to 1,300 Mt of material grading between 600 to 850 ppm Li, equivalent to between 1 and 6 Mt LCE, has been identified by SRK covering the claims BN, BE, BEE and BW and BWE. This is based on an assessment of the updated Mineral Resource LCE per unit area, an estimated range of likely grades based on the MRE and an assessment of the extent of mapped clay and hanging-wall lithologies in the undrilled parts of the Basin Project licence areas (see map: https://www.braddaheadltd.com/media ).

Drilling results from BEE and BN are expected to feed into a revised resource estimate at the Basin Project ("Basin") expected early 2023.  This will also form part of the resource for our Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA).

Bradda is targeting to grow its resources at its Basin project this year with the upcoming drill programmes at BEE and BN. Bradda has two royalty payments due from expanding its resources at its clay claims (see PR dated 22 December 2021). The next payment of US$2.5 million is paid on Bradda expanding its resource base to 1Mt LCE (Lithium Carbonate Equivalent), and then the third payment of US$3 million is achieved when Bradda expands its resource base to 2.5Mt LCE. Bradda is working with its geologists to hit these targets as soon as is feasible with the programmes mentioned above and the planned programmes in 2023 at Basin West and Basin West Extension.

See PR dated 29th March 2022 for more information on the updated Mineral Resource estimate ("MRE") at BE, and map at https://www.braddaheadltd.com/media for more information on Basin in Arizona.

Bradda Head is actively engaged in detailed exploration and evaluation of potential lithium deposits in western Arizona.  Bradda is dedicated to high standards for its evaluation programs, and this includes early recognition and protection of other natural resources that may be affected during evaluation.  Bradda routinely conducts detailed cultural resource and biologic surveys for both flora and fauna to be able to design its evaluation programmes to minimize effects to other resources.  This level of environmental stewardship not only serves to protect other resources but also helps to streamline permitting processes and ensure efficient and uncurtailed on-the-ground operations.

2022 core programme, new hole Upper Clay zone highlights:

Hole ID	Total hole depth	Total Upper Clay zone grade (Li ppm)	Total Upper Clay zone thickness	High-grade Interval grade in Upper zone over 1,000 ppm cut-off (ppm)	High-grade Interval Intersection length	Total Lower Clay zone grade (Li ppm)	Total Lower Clay zone thickness
BES-22-01	137m	848	60m	1,221	14m	678	9m
BES-22-02	115m	1,100	31m	1,512	16m	599	15m
BES-22-03	99m	764	37m	1,086	11m	382	8m
BES-22-04	40m	860	2m	-	-	-	-
BES-22-05	88m	513	11m	-	-	-	-
BES-22-06	126m	782	73m	1,085	8m	536	17m
BES-22-07	73m	889	21m	1,264	8m	529	15m
BES-22-08	96m	-	-	-	-	576	44m
BES-22-09	66m	548	12m	-	-	708	39m
BES-22-10	35m	-	-	1,066	4m	850	7m
BES-22-11	73m	580	19m	-	-	670	16m
BES-22-12	64m	735	2m	-	-	412	22m
BES-22-13	83m	666	24m	1,220	1m	663	29m
BES-22-14	81m	763	34m	1,087	11m	448	18m

The 14 holes above were drilled to a total depth of 1,177mm from surface

Reduction of Claims at Wikieup South

The Company has been notified that its claims over portions of the Wikieup South claim block, equating to 5.4km², are no longer valid. The affected area was staked by the Company in mid-2021 as part of the increased landholding announced on 29 July 2021. Surficial geological work has been carried out including some mapping and geophysics over the affected area as part of a wider programme. The Company has been informed by the Bureau of Land Management (the "BLM") that the Company should not have been permitted to stake the relevant area previously given that the surface rights of the portions of the claims are owned by the BLM, whilst the mineral rights are owned by the Santa Fe Railroad Company, which also owns approximately 100,000km² of mining claims in the United States.  Situations like this can arise in the US due to the way staking and claims are managed.

As a result, the Company's sedimentary claims have now reduced to just over 41 km². The Company is however currently looking into options for potentially leasing these portions of the claims, from the Santa Fe Railroad Company, pending geological analysis of the areas under consideration.

The ownership of the Company's other sedimentary claims at Wikieup and Basin are unaffected by this. A map showing the updated Wikieup South claims can be seen at https://www.braddaheadltd.com/media.

For further information please visit the Company's website: www.braddaheadltd.com

ENDS

For further information, please contact:

Bradda Head Lithium Limited	[phone]
Charlie FitzRoy, CEO Denham Eke, Finance Director
Beaumont Cornish (Nomad) James Biddle/Roland Cornish	[phone]
Peterhouse (Joint Broker)	[phone]
Charles Goodfellow Duncan Vasey Lucy Williams
Shard Capital (Joint Broker)	[phone]
Damon Heath Isabella Pierre
Red Cloud (North American Broker)	[phone]
Joe Fars
Tavistock (PR)	+ 44 20 7920 3150
Nick Elwes Adam Baynes	[e-mail]

About Bradda Head Lithium Ltd.

Bradda Head Lithium Ltd. is a North America-focused lithium development group. The Company currently has interests in a variety of projects, the most advanced of which are in Central and Western Arizona: The Basin Project (Basin East Project, and the Basin West Project) and the Wikieup Project.

The Basin East Project has an Indicated Mineral Resource of 17.6Mt at an average grade of 912ppm Li and 3.4%K for a total of 86kt LCE and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 57.6Mt at an average grade of 717ppm Li and 3.3%K for a total of 220kt LCE. In the rest of the Basin Project SRK has estimated an Exploration Target of between 300 and 1,300Mt of material grading between 600 and 850ppm Li which is equivalent to a range of between 1 and 6Mt LCE.

The Group intends to continue to develop its three phase one projects in Arizona, whilst endeavouring to unlock value at its other prospective pegmatite and brine assets in Arizona, Nevada, and Pennsylvania. All of Bradda Head's licences are held on a 100% equity basis and are in close proximity to the required infrastructure.

Bradda Head is quoted on the AIM of the London Stock Exchange with the ticker of BHL and on the US OTCQB market with a ticker of BHLIF.

Qualified Person BHL

The information in this announcement has been reviewed by Jim Guilinger, COO Bradda Head Lithium. Mr. Guilinger is a graduate of the University of Colorado - Boulder with a BA in Geology with more than 40 years' experience in mineral exploration and mining geology and is a qualified person under the AIM Rules. Mr. Guilinger consents to the inclusion of the technical information in this release and context in which they appear. 

Technical Glossary

"Inferred Mineral Resource"   the part of a mineral deposit for which quantity and grade (or quality) are estimated on the basis of limited geological evidence and sampling. Geological evidence is sufficient to imply but not verify geological grade (or quality) continuity. It is based on exploration, sampling and testing information gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes. An Inferred Mineral Resource has a lower level of confidence that applying to an Indicated Mineral Resources and must not be converted to an Ore Reserve. It is reasonably expected that the majority of Inferred Mineral Resources could be upgraded to Indicated Mineral Resources with continued exploration

"kt"     kilo tonnes being equal to 1,000 tonnes

"Mt"     Mega tonne, being equal to 1,000,000 tonnes

"ppm"                                                parts per million, commonly used to express grade in mineral and brine deposits (equivalent to one gram per tonne)

"LCE"  lithium carbonate equivalent 

"MRE"  mineral resource estimate

Conversion factor of Li metal to lithium carbonate (LCE) = 5.323

 

END

 

 

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