REG - Bradda Head Lithium - Resource Expansion Potential Identified at Basin

Bradda Head LithiumAnnouncement

26/04/2023 07:00

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RNS Number : 4483X  Bradda Head Lithium Ltd  26 April 2023

 

 

 

 

26 April 2023

 

 

Bradda Head Lithium Ltd.

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

 

Further Resource Expansion Potential Identified at Basin Project in Arizona

 

Bradda Head Lithium Ltd (AIM:BHL, TSX-V:BHLI, OTCQB:BHLIF), the North
America-focused lithium development group, is pleased to announce the initial
results from an internal analysis of the first five drill holes of the Basin
East Extension ("BEE") 2023 sonic drill programme; confirming that lithium
bearing clay continues and thickens to the northwest and north into its BEE
lease. Whilst this initial analysis awaits confirmation from the core assays,
the apparent and complete stratigraphic section in drill hole BES-23-05 should
lead to resource expansion for the Company in Q3 2023.

 

Highlights:

·    Drilling commenced in March at BEE, and of the 25 holes planned, the
first five drill holes have now been completed (see Figure 1) with the initial
results endorsing the management's view that the current Resource at Basin
will be expanded from this programme.

·    The first four holes (south of the creek) located in BEE and Basin
East (BE) (see Figure 1) have shown that the upper clay unit, which prior
drill programmes (2018, 2021, and 2022) have shown, is much higher grade that
the lower clay unit, thickens to the North and North-west direction into BEE.

·    The fifth hole (the first on the north side of the Creek) confirms
this and has a similar upper clay thickness to holes 3 and 4.

·    Hole BES-23-05 (the first drill hole ever drilled by BHL to the north
of the creek, see figure 1), encountered what the Company believes is a
completely intact upper and lower clay sequence which has been preserved by a
basalt layer, signifying the presence of a continuation of lithium bearing
clays across to BEE from BE and potentially into Basin North (BN). See Figure
2 and 3 for cross-sections.

·    Bradda's geologists tested the freshly drilled clay core with a LIBS
(laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy) handheld device, and lithium was
recorded as present in the clay. Bradda has now sent the core to be assayed
and will announce the results as soon as received.

·    The upper clay unit is 68m, 77m, and 68m thick in holes BES-23-03,
BES-23-04 and BES-23-05 respectively, and to put that in context the average
thickness of the upper clay unit is on average 34m in all 34 holes that
intercepted upper clay in the previous 3 drill programmes (2018, 2021 and
2022). See Figures 2 and 3.

·    This complete clay sequence seen in BES-23-05 has not been recorded
to date in BE due to varying levels of erosion, and demonstrates the potential
for resource expansion within the 2.5km(2) BEE MEP (Mineral Exploration
Permit). Bradda's existing compliant Resource is located primarily in the
1.5km(2) BE state MEP.

·    The Upper Clay zone, now confirmed to thicken to the northwest 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 deposit.

·    BHL expects to drill up to a further 20 holes at BEE, BE and BN - BEE
is adjacent to BE, and BN joins with BEE's northern border (see map in Figure
1). Prior to this programme, c. 1.4km(2) of the area has been drilled, leading
to a Mineral Resource of 371kt of LCE.

·    During this programme the Company will continue to focus on ensuring
work is carried out with as little disturbance as possible. Bradda is using
sonic drilling, a more environmentally sensitive method as it uses 2/3(rd)'s
less water compared to diamond core drilling.

·    The Company expects to provide the geological results of the
remaining drill holes and assays when received and a revised resource estimate
will follow after all assays are received.

 

Charles FitzRoy, CEO of Bradda Head, commented:

 

"The initial visual analysis of these first five holes is better than expected
and is very encouraging as they have further endorsed our view of the
geological model and potential of the Basin Project as well as the likelihood
of further adding to the existing Resource across Basin.

 

"The analysis of hole 5 which is the first hole Bradda has ever drilled to the
north of the creek, is particularly exciting as it indicates the presence of a
completely intact clay sequence which has been persevered by a basalt layer;
meaning that the lithium bearing clays at Basin East extend across the creek
and open up resource expansion potential. This initial analysis supports our
blue-sky model for what we forecast at BEE and on to Basin West!.

 

"This initial analysis further strengthens our thesis at Basin and we believe
our 2023 drill programme will generate material catalysts for the Company and
will lead to a further resource upgrade in Q3 of this year.  We look forward
to providing further updates as the results from our drilling programme become
available."

 

Figure 1: Map of Basin East Extension, Basin East, southern portion of Basin
North, and eastern portion of Basin West

Figure 2: Cross-section A-B North-West from Basin East to Basin East Extension
through BES-23-03 to BES-23-05 showing clay thickening.

Figure 3: Cross-section C-D North-West from Basin East to Basin East Extension
through BES-23-04 to BES-23-05 showing clay thickening.

 

 

Background

 

Following on from the success of the 2022 drilling at Basin East ("BE"), BHL
mobilised a sonic drill rig, to drill up to 25 holes, in the Company's Basin
Project (see press release dated 16 March 2023).

 

Following the 2022 sonic drilling at Basin, we have drilled on c.1.4km(2) of
our c.46km(2) of sedimentary lithium claims in Arizona, comprising the Basin
and Wikieup Projects. The 2023 plan at Basin is to increase exploration
drilling coverage over as much of our c.46km(2) of lithium-bearing sediments
as possible and, by completing this, BHL anticipates further resource growth
in 2023 across this project.

 

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.

 

The Company has obtained MEP drill hole permits for 120 sites at BEE, where
sonic drilling  commenced in March of this year. The Company also has
permission to drill 10 holes on its BN claim. 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
(https://www.braddaheadltd.com/media) ). BEE, BE, and BN are contiguous land
positions with BEE's northern border.

 

Bradda Head is in the process of permitting exploratory drilling at its Basin
West (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 from
expanding its resources at its clay projects (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
2024 at Basin West and Basin West Extension.

 

 

Related Tables

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

 

Table 1: Comparison of updated Q4 2022 MRE to Q1 2022 MRE to 2018 MRE:

              LCE (kt)  Resource area (km(2))  % of resource area over total 41km(2)  Drilled area (km(2))  % of drilled area over total 41km(2)
 2018 MRE     185       0.58                   1.4                                    0.9                   2.2
 Q1 2022 MRE  305(1)    0.94                   2.3                                    1.1                   2.7
 Q4 2022 MRE  371(2)    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

 

 

Qualified Person (BHL)

Joey Wilkins, B.Sc., P.Geo., is Head of North America at 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 (http://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        +44 (0) 1624 639 396
 Charlie FitzRoy, CEO

 Denham Eke, Finance Director

 Beaumont Cornish (Nomad)           +44 20 7628 3396

 James Biddle/Roland Cornish

 Panmure Gordon (Joint Broker)      +44 20 7886 2500

 John Prior

 Hugh Rich

 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 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.

 

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