Commencement of Exploration Drilling at Wikieup

RNS Number : 4990V

Bradda Head Lithium Ltd

14 December 2021

 

14 December 2021

Bradda Head Lithium Ltd.

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

Commencement of Exploration Drilling at Wikieup

Bradda Head Lithium Ltd. (AIM: BHL), the North America-focused lithium development group, is pleased to announce the commencement of exploration drilling at the Company's Wikieup project in Arizona.

Highlights :

· Drilling has commenced at Bradda's Wikieup project following the Company obtaining full drilling permits after the completion of bond payment adjudication on 9th December 2021. Drilling commenced on Friday 10^th December.

· The programme is for 28 holes (3,000m), roughly 3 times the size of the recent Burro Creek East drill programme, and covers portions of the Company's Wikieup Project claims. Bradda Head is using sonic drilling, which is more environmentally sensitive due to the use of very little water compared to diamond core drilling or R/C.

· Over the first 3 days of drilling Boart Longyear drilled 40m on average per 12-hour shift of this 28 hole, 3,000m programme. The previous programme at Burro Creek East (diamond core drilling) only achieved 11m on average per 12-hour shift over the whole programme. The drill rate being seen at Wikieup highlights the shortened drill programme timetable and the cost efficiency of using sonic drilling at our sedimentary projects, as well as the water saving nature of sonic versus diamond drilling.

· The results from this programme at Wikieup will likely form a maiden resource in Q2 2022.

· Bradda Head has recently (RNS dated 17/11/2021) completed a 10-hole (1,144m) diamond drill programme at its Burro Creek East project in Arizona, where an updated resource is due in Q1 2022. Bradda Head has an existing resource of 185kt of LCE at Burro Creek East and expects this updated resource due in Q1 2022 to significantly expand upon it.

· Bradda has 47km² of sedimentary claims in Arizona and so far has only drilled on approximately 2%.

As referenced in an RNS dated 08/11/2021, the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) approved conditional drilling permits at Wikieup, before awarding final permission following the completion of bond payment adjudication on 09/12/2021.

The permission received refers to 9.8km² of Bradda Head's Wikieup project (total 29.3km²) covering Sections 12, 13 and Wikieup NW exploration targets (https://www.braddaheadltd.com/media/image-library/wikieup-2021-drilling-programme/), representing the main area of focus for the Company.

In an RNS dated 29/10/2021 Bradda Head released promising initial results from its 2021 geophysics programme at Wikieup, showing clay thicknesses of up to 90 metres, comparable to Arizona Lithium's Big Sandy deposit (1,850 ppm Lithium grade), which is adjacent to Bradda Head's Wikieup claims.

Bradda Head has already engaged the highly-respected drilling contractor Boart Longyear (RNS dated 04/10/2021) to carry out the environmentally-sensitive sonic drilling programme. This programme is focussed on claims that are approximately 20% of Bradda's sedimentary landholding (total 47km²) and has the potential to add to Bradda's existing resource (185kt LCE) at its Burro Creek East asset which covers only 2% of Bradda Head's claim package.

Surface samples with grades of up to 1,750 ppm lithium have been identified at Bradda's Wikieup project and our geologists are confident that the upcoming drill programme will confirm the prospectivity of the project and define additional lithium mineralisation to support a maiden resource estimate at the project in Q2 2022.

Charles FitzRoy, CEO of Bradda Head Lithium, commented:

"We are pleased to commence the drilling programme at Wikieup. With exploration already yielding positive results at our other assets in Arizona (see RNS dated 24/11/2021), we are confident that this drilling programme will support the promising initial results from our 2021 geophysics programme and demonstrate the resource size potential at Wikieup."

"The commencement of a second drilling programme in five months demonstrates our intent to accelerate exploration and fully develop our asset base in Arizona and Nevada, as well as playing a part in the crucial supply of lithium to US end-users. We recently announced a conditional royalty with LRC for up to $10m, a deal which would allow us to drill on most of our sedimentary claims and start a scoping or PEA-style technical study without the need for coming to the market for funds."

"Bradda started and completed its first drill programme as a listed company in 2021 and has started a second far larger drill campaign before the year closes. Bradda is committed to fast-track development of its projects and expects to be announcing increases in resources in Q1 and Q2 in 2022. A very exciting year ahead as our hard work in 2021 comes to fruition."

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

Contact:

Bradda Head Lithium 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]
Damon Heath Isabella Pierre
Red Cloud (North American Broker)	[phone]
Joe Fars
Tavistock (PR)	+ 44 20 7920 3150
Nick Elwes Oliver Lamb Adam Baynes	[e-mail]

Notes to Editors

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 Burro Creek Project (the 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 Lithium is quoted on the AIM of the London Stock Exchange with the ticker of BHL.

 

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