Receipt of Permission to Drill at Wikieup Project

RNS Number : 4773H

Bradda Head Holdings Ltd

04 August 2021

 

04 August 2021

Bradda Head Holdings Ltd

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

Receipt of Permission to Drill at the Wikieup Project

Bradda Head Holdings Ltd (AIM:BHL), the North America-focused lithium development group, is pleased to announce that it has received permission to drill on part of its Wikieup Project in Arizona, USA.  Drilling is expected to commence in early Q4 2021. Bradda Head has already commenced drilling at its Burro Creek East asset, and this programme at Wikieup plans to add further resources to the Company's existing JORC-compliant Inferred Mineral Resource at Burro Creek East.

Highlights:

· Bradda Head has received permission to drill 10 holes on a portion of the Wikieup Project in Western Arizona, and expects a further permission of 20 holes to be approved shortly in the 7km² package.

· Permission has been granted on one section (Section 12, 1.1 km²) of the Wikieup Project ( Link to map https://www.braddaheadltd.com/media/image-library/), and Bradda has now submitted drilling permit requests for the remaining portions (7.0 km²).

· Part of the newly staked area, Wikieup South covering 14.9km² (Wikieup project total of 29.3km² with 16.4km² recently staked by Bradda Head), is being evaluated for targeted drilling following a geophysics survey planned for September.

· The programme is approved under a Notice of Intent (NOI) permit, which allows Bradda Head to get drilling quickly, has a minimal environmental impact and tests areas first before committing to larger programmes.

· The 8.1km² proposed drilling programme area sits in the 29.3km² Wikieup Project area, where Bradda Head recently added 16.4km² of claims to the Wikieup Project and 7.5km² to the Burro Creek Project (PR 21/07/2021).

· Bradda Head is acquiring permits to drill here as its geologists have identified favourable underlying lithium-rich clay at the surface which is clearly correlative with the clay layers currently being developed by Hawkstone Mining.  Large parts of the Section 12 area are covered by a veneer of alluvial gravel estimated to be no more than 10m thick.

· Bradda Head is confident in delineating a JORC-compliant resource at Wikieup, to add to its current JORC-compliant resource at Burro Creek East of 42.6 Mt of lithium bearing clays at an average grade of 818 ppm of lithium for 185kt of Lithium Carbonate Equivalent (LCE). The resource at Burro Creek East covers an area of c.1.0km².

Bradda Head has received permission from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to commence a 10-hole drilling program at Section 12 on the Company's Wikieup Project in Western Arizona, pending the lodging of the reclamation bond totalling c.US$16,000, which is currently in progress. As the programme is being drilled in clay, Bradda Head may use sonic drilling, which uses far less water than conventional drilling techniques and also produces less waste. A further benefit of sonic drilling is very good core recovery, which makes resource estimates more accurate.

The Wikieup Project area covers 29.3km². The three areas targeted for drilling in Q3/Q4 this year cover 8.1km². A map showing the planned drilling areas can be seen on the Company's website ( https://www.braddaheadltd.com/media/image-library/). The rest of the project area (Wikieup South, 14.9 km²) is being evaluated for a targeted drill programme post-geophysical analysis in September 2021. Link to recently staked claims: (https://www.braddaheadltd.com/media/image-library/2021-claim-staking/)

Geologically, the Wikieup Project area is almost entirely covered by alluvium on top of an underlying deposit of favourable lithium-rich clay. As shown on the map (link above), the areas of clay exposure in Section 12 show lithium values at surface ranging up to 1,130ppm.

The area has good road access, being located in close proximity to Highway 93, and the planned drilling activity of this initial programme will have a minimal impact on the environment due to the Company using a NOI permit, which allows Bradda Head to get drilling quickly, has a minimal environmental impact and tests areas first before committing to larger programmes.

The 10-hole drilling programme should provide sufficient data for an inferred resource due to the deposit style. It is expected a resource estimate at Wikieup will be issued in Q1 2022. Along with a resource estimate, Bradda Head will be conducting metallurgical testing on core recovered.

Bradda Head has also recently doubled its landholding position (from 23km² to 47km²) on the Burro Creek-Wikieup lithium district (PR 29/07/2021) and already has a JORC-compliant resource of 42.6 Mt of lithium bearing clays at an average grade of 818 ppm of lithium for 185kt of LCE at its Burro Creek East project. This permission to drill at the Company's Wikieup Project will enable Bradda Head to increase the size of its resource base and add optionality for multiple deposits across the Burro Creek-Wikieup district, increasing the size and scale potential of any future open pit mine on the Burro Creek-Wikieup trend.

Charles FitzRoy, CEO of Bradda Head, commented:

"We are delighted to have been granted permission to begin the drilling programme at the Wikieup Project, and we will shortly be lodging the reclamation bond."

"From a geological perspective, the areas of exposed clay observed on the surface at the Project contain promising lithium values; grades of up to 1,130ppm have been identified. Bradda is confident as to the potential of the lithium deposit underneath the alluvium surface on the rest of the Project area."

"This newly-approved drilling programme, added to the recent doubling of our landholding on the Burro Creek-Wikieup Lithium district, will give us the opportunity to increase the size of our resource base and add optionality, and factors like ease of road access mean that we can maximise time and cost-efficiency in progressing the drilling programme."

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

Contact:

Bradda Head Holdings 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]
Isabella Pierre
Tavistock (PR)	+ 44 20 7920 3150
Nick Elwes Adam Baynes	[e-mail]

Notes to Editors

Bradda Head Holdings 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 Burro Creek project (Burro Creek East Project, and the Burro Creek West Project) and the Wikieup Project.

The Burro Creek East Project has an estimated an Inferred Mineral Resource (JORC) of 42.6 Mt of lithium bearing clays at an average grade of 818 ppm of lithium for 185,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE). The Burro Creek East Project also has additional exploration potential for extensions to the current model of between 50,000 to 300,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent.

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 Bradda Head's licences are held on a 100% equity basis and are in close proximity to the required infrastructure.

Bradda Head is listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange with the ticker of BHL.

 

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