Bradda Head Lithium - Basin East Drilling & Wikieup South Update

Bradda Head Lithium

18/10/2022 07:00

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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) that its claims over portions of the Wikieup South claim block, equating
to 5.4km(2), 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        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

            hole depth
 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 5.4km(2), 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
100,000km(2) 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
km(2). 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 (http://www.braddaheadltd.com)

 

 

 

 

 

ENDS

 

 

For further information, please contact:

 

 Bradda Head Lithium Limited        +44 (0) 1624 639 396
 Charlie FitzRoy, CEO

 Denham Eke, Finance Director

 Beaumont Cornish (Nomad)           +44 20 7220 1666

 James Biddle/Roland Cornish

 Peterhouse (Joint Broker)          +44 207 469 0930
 Charles Goodfellow

 Duncan Vasey

 Lucy Williams

 Shard Capital (Joint Broker)       +44 207 186 9927
 Damon Heath

 Isabella Pierre

 Red Cloud (North American Broker)  +1 416 803 3562
 Joe Fars

 Tavistock (PR)                     + 44 20 7920 3150
 Nick Elwes                         braddahead@tavistock.co.uk

 Adam Baynes

 

 

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

 

 

 

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