Executive Chair's Statement

Bradda Head Lithium Ltd

22 January 2025

 

22 January 2025

Bradda Head Lithium Ltd

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

Executive Chair's Statement

Bradda Head Lithium Ltd (AIM:BHL), the North America-focused lithium development group, is pleased to present the following statement from the Company's Executive Chair, Ian Stalker: 

Dear Shareholders,

There is no need to overstate how challenging the lithium market space has been for almost all lithium-focused junior explorers and developers in 2024.  As we enter 2025, however, I am delighted to reflect upon the work the team at Bradda have achieved. I believe that we are well positioned for growth when the market rebounds - as it will - and our financial stability will allow us to move forward at a significant pace.

Over the last twelve months, the Company has put itself in a position to hopefully define a maiden NI 43-101 resource at our San Domingo project which is our future medium-term priority. In parallel, a significant milestone was achieved on our Basin project where drilling expanded the lithium in clay resource from roughly 1.0 million tons of Lithium Carbonate Extract ("LCE") to 2.8 million tons, with extensive room to grow. This achievement has contributed to the Company's sound financial footing.

At our lithium spodumene pegmatite opportunity - our San Domingo Project - the recent announcement the Company made on the approval of the Notice of Intent to drill constitutes a significant milestone, as it is an opportunity for us to define a potentially much bigger resource than the Company originally envisioned at San Domingo. As always, of course, the truth will be in the drill bit itself, but importantly Bradda has already identified some promising new targets, including Ruby Soho and Midnight Owl, where we have, through our recent work, gained a much clearer and more focused definition of the targets (see RNS dated 26 November 2024 for detail). The "Dragon" pegmatite target is another excellent opportunity, outlining the phenomenal geology we are discovering as our knowledge and understanding of this asset continue to grow. Our technical team continues to exhaustively explore our license area and has already identified many other targets for later attention. Simultaneously with our exploration activities, Bradda has also continued with a staged metallurgical test-work campaign to identify the simplest and most environmentally acceptable way to treat our pegmatite material to produce a sellable Lithium Concentrate Product. This next phase is planned to yield results in Q1 2025.

What we are doing at San Domingo is building momentum on our pegmatite project which, subject to several factors, including further funding of limited capex demand and appropriate permitting, has allowed us to internally target a potential production scenario by the end of 2026/into early 2027. The team believes, based on earlier and ongoing test-work, that a marketable concentrate can be produced and sold from our material. 

Our strategy to bring this into production by utilizing contract-led, simple, cost-effective open-pit mining, and use of contractor-supplied size reduction and gravity plants, will ensure that the capital cost of developing the operation as well as the operating costs themselves are relatively low in real terms. This is particularly advantageous for a junior miner such as Bradda, and would enable the Company to move this project forward positively and aggressively into production.

This relatively near-term production scenario effectively means that Bradda would be well-positioned going forward, certainly by comparison to the plethora of junior lithium companies in our space, as we are relieved from the immediate pressures of having to raise money in a market which, currently for junior exploration companies, is exceptionally difficult. This in turn is creating potential opportunities for the Company.

Also important was the resource expansion drilling that was conducted at Basin during 2024, and resulted in a near three-fold increase in LCE from 1.0 million to 2.8 million tons with further significant growth potential. The Company has submitted a revised Exploration Plan of Operations expected to be approved by the Bureau of Land Management ("BLM ")in H2 of 2025. The Company is examining commencement of a multi-stage leaching metallurgical study designed to analyze significant reduction of acid consumption and neutralization demands to reduce potential capital and operating expenditures in its lithium in clays resource via a Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") scenario.

Bradda Head, a junior lithium player, is in a sound financial position through innovative approaches to raising cash, including the recent and final US$ 3 million royalty receipt from Lithium Royalty Corporation. Our conservative cash management has meant that we have not needed to return to the market for funding in over two years whilst continuing to make demonstrable progress over our key Projects. This, in a market experiencing all-time price lows, with lithium miners taking production offline and juniors ceasing to exist entirely, is a truly exceptional achievement. It is worth stating that the interest of all shareholders has always been a concern to our Board, and Bradda believes it compares favorably with other Juniors in our space where some of our competitors have been "forced" to raise funds at embarrassingly low levels resulting in an adverse dilution of shareholders.

Against this backdrop, and as the market generally thins out, particularly in respect to junior mining companies, Bradda shines as one of the only remaining options for capitalizing on the future supply of US domestic lithium as the lithium price ticks back up.

The Board believes that Bradda is in a strong position. The decisions the Company has taken during 2024 have set us in good stead to achieve significant milestones in 2025. We expect to be embarking on a drilling programme this year with a slimmed down, but highly experienced and effective team that will further justify the Board's inherent belief in our portfolio.  The Company has many exciting opportunities available to it this year, including the opportunity of building up our San Domingo resource into a significant asset, as well as our opportunities outside of San Domingo. Our Basin asset continues to be an area of growth and promise for Bradda Head with anticipated drill permits and further metallurgical analysis receiving attention plus our lithium in oil brines are drawing attention as Direct Lithium Extraction becomes an increasingly hot topic.

Whether the lithium price has bottomed out or not remains to be seen, but what is clear is the need for lithium. The noises currently coming from the US, and with the new administration in place will not change: the US needs to transition to a larger percentage usage of EVs which will directly impact the demand for lithium and, most crucially, a domestic source for it. The question is the speed at which they choose to achieve this. Other countries, most notably China, already have a significant proportion of electric vehicles and it is growing in every visible market. Whilst we may be a relatively small company, we believe that our focused projects are cost effective and that they can make a real impact in the market. Bradda remains a US-based company which will be producing US lithium for the US market and the Board believe that this puts us in a strategically advantageous position. 

The year ahead is already shaping up to be an exciting year for Bradda's development. The market will come round, and when it does, Bradda will be ready to take advantage of that. Shareholder support continues to be warmly received and greatly appreciated.

Qualified Person (Bradda Head)

Joey Wilkins, B.Sc., P.Geo., is Chief Operating Officer at Bradda Head and the Qualified Person who reviewed and approved the technical disclosures in this news release. Mr Wilkins is a graduate of the University of Arizona with a B.Sc. in Geology with more than 39 years of experience in mineral exploration and is a qualified person under the AIM Rules and a Qualified Person as defined under NI-43-101. Mr Wilkins consents to the inclusion of the technical information in this release and context in which it appears.

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION (EU No. 596/2014) AS IT FORMS PART OF UK DOMESTIC LAW BY VIRTUE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018. UPON THE PUBLICATION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT VIA A REGULATORY INFORMATION SERVICE, THIS INSIDE INFORMATION IS NOW CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN AND SUCH PERSONS SHALL THEREFORE CEASE TO BE IN POSSESSION OF INSIDE INFORMATION.

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

ENDS

Contact:

Bradda Head Lithium Limited	[phone]
Ian Stalker, Executive Chair Denham Eke, Finance Director
Beaumont Cornish (Nomad) James Biddle / Roland Cornish	[phone]
Panmure Liberum (Joint Broker)	[phone]
Kieron Hodgson / Rauf Munir
Shard Capital (Joint Broker)	[phone]
Damon Heath / Isabella Pierre
Tavistock (PR)	+ 44 20 7920 3150
Nick Elwes / Josephine Clerkin	[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 a Measured Mineral Resource of 20 Mt at an average grade of 929 ppm Li for a total of 99 kt LCE and an Indicated Mineral Resource of 122 Mt at an average grade of 860 ppm Li and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 499 Mt at an average grade of 810 ppm Li for a total of 2.81 Mt 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.

Forward-Looking Statements

Beaumont Cornish Limited ("Beaumont Cornish") is the Company's Nominated Adviser and is authorised and regulated by the FCA. Beaumont Cornish's responsibilities as the Company's Nominated Adviser, including a responsibility to advise and guide the Company on its responsibilities under the AIM Rules for Companies and AIM Rules for Nominated Advisers, are owed solely to the London Stock Exchange. Beaumont Cornish is not acting for and will not be responsible to any other persons for providing protections afforded to customers of Beaumont Cornish nor for advising them in relation to the proposed arrangements described in this announcement or any matter referred to in it.

 

END