Bradda Head announces positive results from latest drilling

(Sharecast News) - North American lithium developer Bradda Head announced assay results from the Basin East Extension (BEE) 2023 drilling programme on Wednesday. The AIM-traded firm said the findings included its highest interval grade so far, with a record of 2,791 parts of lithium per million over 0.4 metres, and a separate measure of 641 parts of molybdenum per million over 1.22 metres.

With drilling activities now finished, Bradda Head said it was progressing towards an upgraded mineral resource estimate, expected by mid-September.

The company said the recent drill results from BEE continued to be encouraging, particularly with respect to the thickness of lithium-bearing clay deposits.

It said the deposits appeared to be expanding northwards into its Basin North (BN) claims, and potentially westwards into Basin West (BW) claims.

That, the board said, suggested the possibility of a substantial resource expansion for the company in the near future.

Looking further at the results, Bradda Head said they included promising lithium intercepts from two sonic core holes, with measurements of 88.7 metres at 903 parts of lithium per million in hole BES23-11, and 75.12 metres at 983 parts of lithium per million in hole BES23-12.

The firm said the high-grade unit from Basin East maintained strong continuity across the entirety of BEE, extending into BN and potentially into BW.

That continuity was especially beneficial for mining, the board explained, given that the high-grade units reside in the shallower parts of the deposit.

Additionally, the assay results detected high concentrations of molybdenum associated with the drill holes.

Bradda Head added that the first drilling hole at Basin North revealed a significant intercept of 86.12 metres of upper clay - a promising indicator for further resource expansion.

Given the consistent presence of lithium in the upper clays, that pointed towards an extensive lithium mineralisation in the project area, hinting at a substantial lithium deposit.

Bradda said it was aiming for a one million tonnes-plus lithium carbonate equivalent resource this year, which, if achieved, would activate the next royalty payment of $2.5m from LRC.

Finally, the company said the lithium-clay mineralisation remained open on the western and northern fronts, offering more potential for resource growth.

That was supported by a previously-reported exploration target range of one million to six million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent, as identified by SRK.

Moreover, the consistent findings in BEE and the initial results from BN reinforced Bradda's confidence in a vast, lithium-rich stratigraphic sequence.

The company said it believed that could lead to significant resource expansion, with the possibility of reaching a tier-one deposit status.

"We are excited about the potential for significant expansion of the resource at the Basin Project," said chief executive officer Charles FitzRoy.

"These latest assays solidify the resource expansion potential at Basin and 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."

FitzRoy said the 2023 drilling programme at the Basin Project was focussed on further expanding the resource base, delineating additional lithium-rich zones, and working with SRK to release an updated mineral resource estimate.

"Hole 14 is the first hole into BN, and confirms the presence of the upper clay unit.

"The company has now kicked off its phase three drill programme at its 31-square kilometre 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."

At 1400 BST, shares in Bradda Head Lithium were up 1.28% at 3.95p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.