Further Positive Results at Basin

Bradda Head Lithium Ltd

25 July 2023

 

25 July 2023

Bradda Head Lithium Ltd.

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

Further Positive Results at Basin to Lead to Significant Resource Expansion

Bradda Head Lithium Ltd (AIM:BHL, TSX-V:BHLI, OTCQB:BHLIF), the North America-focused lithium development group, is pleased to announce the assay results from the next five drill holes of the Basin East Extension ("BEE") 2023 drill programme.

The programme has continued to encounter better-than-expected thicknesses of clay confirming that lithium-bearing clays continue and thicken to the west, northwest and north into the Company's BEE lease with probable extensions into adjoining Basin North ("BN"), and Basin West ("BW") claims. These positive indicators are expected to lead to significant resource expansion for the Company this year.

Key highlights from the recent drilling campaign include:

1.    Notable Significant Lithium Intercepts of:

·    Notable intervals from the next 5 widely spaced sonic core holes continue to be encouraging and include:

o  81.60m @ 944ppm Li in hole BES23-10, including 19.79m @ 1,325ppm,

o  82.30m @ 906ppm Li in hole BES23-07, including 20.87m @ 1,324ppm and

o  81.98m @ 867ppm Li in hole BES23-06, including 20.73m @ 1,363ppm. See Table 1 for highlighted results.

2.    High-grade unit

·    The high-grade unit previously found in Basin East ("BE") has similar grades and maintains strong continuity across all of BEE, likely extending into BN and BW.

·    This is very positive for any future mining operation as the high-grade unit sits in the upper clay unit which forms the shallowest part of the deposit, essentially cropping out at BE.

·    The assays have also identified high levels of molybdenum associated with drill holes BES23-06, 07, 09, and 10 and within the high-grade unit of between 109ppm over 22.56m in hole 06 and 187ppm over 16.44m in hole 10. To put that in context, Freeport's Bagdad copper mine (c.6 miles from Basin) which extracts a healthy molybdenum by-product credit has a molybdenum Proven and Probable Reserve grade of c.200ppm.

3.    Resource Expansion:

·    The new drill results demonstrate the potential for a substantial expansion of the lithium-bearing clay zone at the Basin Project, significantly increasing the potential resource base.

·    The remarkable continuity of the lithium intercepts suggest the presence of extensive lithium mineralisation throughout the project area, indicating the potential for a sizeable lithium deposit.

·    Bradda is targeting a +1Mt LCE (lithium carbonate equivalent) Resource this year, which would trigger the next royalty payment of US$2.5m from LRC.

4.    Further Exploration Potential:

·    The lithium-clay mineralisation remains open to the west, and north, indicating further resource upside, as backed up by the previously reported 1Mt to 6Mt LCE JORC Exploration Target identified by SRK.

·    Holes BES23-05, 06, 07, 08, 09 and 10 encountered a thicker and more consistent upper clay thickness on BEE than found at BE. Drilling to date has demonstrated the upper clay gradually thickens to the north, northwest, and to the west towards BW, which is very positive for resource expansion potential into BW, see Figures 1 and 2.   

·    The total upper clay unit is 78.41m in width on average in BEE. To put that in context the average thickness of the upper clay unit at BE is 34.00m in all the previous 34 holes that intercepted upper clay in the last 3 drill programmes (2018, 2021 and 2022). See Figures 3, 4  and 5.

·    Resource estimation work is now underway to produce an updated Mineral Resource Estimate, with SRK incorporating this new drill data.

·    The recent drill results on BEE solidify Bradda's belief in a widespread and continuous lithium-rich stratigraphic sequence with potential across BN and BW that the Company believe will lead to significant resource growth and opportunity to become a Tier 1 deposit.

Charles FitzRoy, CEO of Bradda Head Lithium, commented:

"We are extremely excited about the potential for significant expansion of the resource at the Basin Project. The high-grade lithium intercepts encountered in the recent drilling campaign demonstrate the exceptional potential of the project and underscore its importance as a potential strategic lithium asset.

"The 2023 drilling programme at the Basin Project is focussed on further expanding the resource base, delineating additional lithium-rich zones, and is working with SRK to release an updated MRE."

"The Company will soon be kicking off its Phase 3 drill programme at its 23km² San Domingo pegmatite district in Arizona, with the main aim to delineate a Resource and also to build on the promising results of the maiden drill programme which finished earlier this year."

Detailed assay results, including additional intercepts and technical details, will be made available on the Company's website at www.braddaheadlithium.com.

Figure 1: Map of BEE and BE

Figure 2: Map of the Basin Project

Figure 3: Cross-section A-B West-East from Basin East to Basin East Extension through BES-23-06 to BES-23-10 showing clay thickening. Assays pending for BES-23-11 and BES-23-12.

 

Figure 4: Cross-section C-D West-East from Basin East to Basin East Extension through BES-23-04 to BES-23-07 showing clay thickening.

Figure 5: Cross-section E-F North-West from Basin East to Basin East Extension through BES-23-03 to BES-23-11 showing clay thickening. Assays pending for BES-23-11 and BES-23-12.

Background

The successful 2022 drilling at BE led to BHL permitting holes on BEE, then mobilising a sonic drill rig to drill up to 25 holes in the Company's BEE State Lease (see press release dated 16 March 2023).

The 2022 sonic drilling at BE tested c.1.4km² of the overall c.46km² property, including Wickieup.

Initial results released on 23 May 2023 at Basin demonstrated the presence across the creek of a complete clay sequence which had not been recorded to date at BE due to varying levels of erosion and basin margin thinning, thus demonstrating the potential for significant resource expansion within the 2.5km² BEE MEP (Mineral Exploration Permit) and southern portion of the 2.6km² BN claim. Bradda's existing compliant Resource is located primarily in the 1.5km² BE state MEP.

The Upper Clay sequence, now confirmed to thicken to the west, northwest, and north extent of the previously drilled area towards and into Bradda's BEE claim, could potentially form part of a phased mining operation. This could be mined early in the mine plan as a High-Grade zone sits in the upper part of the current resource.

Holes BES-23-05, 06, and 07 (the first drill holes ever drilled by BHL to the north of the creek, see figure 1), encountered a completely intact upper and lower clay sequence preserved by a basalt layer, signifying the continuation of lithium bearing clays across to BEE from BE and potentially into BN. See Figure 3 and 4 for cross-sections.

Holes 7, 8, and 10 are on the western border of BEE and BW confirm that the upper clay unit continues to thicken to the west.

BHL released an updated Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE") in January this year (see PR dated 16 January 2023), which was the 2^nd MRE that BHL has released in 18 months since Listing on AIM in July 2021.

BHL obtained drill hole permits for 120 sites on the MEP (Mineral Exploration Permit) from the State of Arizona at BEE in 2022, where sonic drilling commenced in late March of this year. The Company also has permission to drill 10 holes on its BN claim (BLM Administered lands). The difference in the scale of the programmes is that BEE is a state lease, whereas BN is a Bureau of Land Management ("BLM") series of lode and placer claims (see map for all Basin Project claims/leases at https://www.braddaheadltd.com/media). BEE, BE, and BN are contiguous land positions within BEE's northern border.

Bradda Head is in the process of permitting exploratory drilling at its BW and Basin West Extension ("BWE") claims through an Exploration Plan of Operations, a procedure with the BLM.

Bradda is targeting to grow its Resource at its Basin project this year with the drill programmes at BEE and BN. Bradda has two royalty payments due through expansion of its clay resources (see PR dated 22 December 2021). The next payment of US$2.5 million will be paid to Bradda by 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 2024 at Basin West and Basin West Extension.

2023 programme, highlights:

Table 1. Basin East & East Extension Highlights

Hole ID	Total hole depth	Upper Clay zone mean grade (Li ppm)	Upper Clay zone interval thickness, in meters *	High-grade Interval grade in Upper zone over 1,000 ppm cut-off (ppm)	High-grade Interval Intersection length in meters*	Lower Clay zone interval mean grade (Li ppm)	Lower Clay zone interval thickness, in meters*
BES-23-01	77.72	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	484	31.97
BES-23-02	102.87	826	46.24	1,005	13.38	596	17.49
BES-23-03	137.92	954	63.12	1,327	24.32	729	34.24
BES-23-04	111.25	1,077	66.92	1,602	18.30	686	15.23
BES-23-05	191.11	944	63.71	1,029	32.93	701	32.92
BES-23-06	181.97	867	81.98	1,363	20.73	657	32.33
BES-23-07	221.28	906	82.30	1,324	20.87	642	21.96
BES-23-08	205.13	838	71.94	1,221	8.99	686	9.14
BES-23-09	139.29	812	74.21	1,262	11.89	Not drilled	NA
BES-23-10	211.23	944	81.60	1,325	19.79	Not drilled	NA

Note: * all lengths represent true thickness as sedimentary sequence is horizontal and holes are vertical (90 degrees to stratigraphy)

Related Tables

The following table is for information and context, comparing Q4 2022, Q1 2022 and 2018 MRE totals in relation to the areas on which work had been conducted at each time.

Table 2: Comparison of updated Q4 2022 MRE to Q1 2022 MRE to 2018 MRE:

	LCE (kt)	Resource area (km2)	% of resource area over total 41km2	Drilled area (km2)	% of drilled area over total 41km2
2018 MRE	185	0.58	1.4	0.9	2.2
Q1 2022 MRE	3051	0.94	2.3	1.1	2.7
Q4 2022 MRE	3712	1.24	3.0	1.4	3.4

1 National Instrument 43-101 compliant technical report filed for the Basin Project in November 2022

2 National Instrument 43-101 compliant technical report filed for the Basin Project in March 2023

QAQC, Sample Preparation

All core samples have been split in half, bagged on site, numbered in depth sequence with certified standards added into the sample stream for quality control. Bags were kept under lock and key prior to their direct shipment to ISO-certified laboratory, SGS, in Burnaby, BC, Canada. Samples were weighed, dried, crushed, then split by rotary convention and placed into 250gram envelopes. The samples were then pulverized to 85% passing 75 microns, then analysed by 4-acid digest, ICP-AES / ICP-MS. 

Qualified Person (BHL)

Joey Wilkins, B.Sc., P.Geo., is COOat BHL 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 37 years of experience in mineral exploration and is a qualified person under the AIM Rules. Mr. Wilkins consents to the inclusion of the technical information in this release and context in which it appears.

Reference is made to the report entitled "Independent Technical Report On The Basin And Wikieup Lithium Clay Projects, Arizona, USA" (the Report) dated October 18 2022 with an effective date of June 10 2022.The Report was prepared by Martin Pittuck, CEng, MIMMM, FGS, and Kirsty Reynolds MSci, PhD, FGS and reviewed by Nick Fox MSc, ACA, MIMMM. Reference is made to the report entitled "Technical Report On The Mineral Resource And Exploration Target Estimates For The Basin Lithium Project, USA" dated February 28 2023 with an effective date of October 13 2022. The Report was prepared by Martin Pittuck, CEng, MIMMM, FGS, Kirsty Reynolds MSci, PhD, FGS  and Jamie Price MESci, PhD. The Reports are available for review on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) and the Company's website.

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.

ENDS

Contact:

Bradda Head Lithium Limited	[phone]
Charles FitzRoy, CEO Denham Eke, Finance Director
Beaumont Cornish (Nomad) James Biddle/Roland Cornish	[phone]
Panmure Gordon (Joint Broker) John Prior Hugh Rich	[phone]
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 21.2 Mt at an average grade of 891 ppm Li and 3.5% K for a total of 100 kt LCE and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 73.3 Mt at an average grade of 694 ppm Li and 3.2% K for a total of 271 kt LCE. In the rest of the Basin Project SRK has estimated an Exploration Target of between 300 to 1,300 Mt of material grading between 600 to 850 ppm Li which is equivalent to a range of between 1 to 6 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, on the TSX Ventures exchange with a ticker of BHLI, and on the US OTCQB market with a ticker of BHLIF.

Forward-Looking Statements

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This News Release includes certain "forward-looking statements" which are not comprised of historical facts.  Forward-looking statements include estimates and statements that describe the Company's future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that the Company or management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward-looking statements may be identified by such terms as "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "estimates", "may", "could", "would", "will", or "plan". Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Although these statements are based on information currently available to the Company, the Company provides no assurance that actual results will meet management's expectations.  Risks, uncertainties and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, following:  The Company's objectives, goals or future plans. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to: failure to identify mineral resources; failure to convert estimated mineral resources to reserves; delays in obtaining or failures to obtain required regulatory, governmental, environmental or other project approvals; political risks; future operating and capital costs, timelines, permit timelines, the market and future price of and demand for lithium, and the ongoing ability to work cooperatively with stakeholders, including the local levels of government; uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future; changes in equity markets, inflation, changes in exchange rates, fluctuations in commodity prices; delays in the development of projects, capital and operating costs varying significantly from estimates; an inability to predict and counteract the effects of COVID-19 on the business of the Company, including but not limited to the effects of COVID-19 on the price of commodities, capital market conditions, restriction on labour and international travel and supply chains; and the other risks involved in the mineral exploration and development industry, and those risks set out in the Company's public documents filed on SEDAR. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law.

Technical Glossary

kt	Thousand tonnes
ppm	parts per million
Li	Lithium
clay	Lacustrine clay

 

END