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Bradda Head Lithium receives drilling permits

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Global Mining Review,


Bradda Head Lithium Ltd has been granted drilling permission to conduct geochemical testing of the brine at its Wilson Flat Project in Nye County, Nevada, which consists of 13.6 km2 of federal mining claims.

Highlights:

  • Bradda Head has built on previous positive exploration results (2016 gravity survey, 2017 magnetotellurics (MT) survey and 2016 surface sampling at Wilson) to receive drilling permits at its Wilson project in Nevada. The newly permitted drilling is designed to test promising features identified in the prior work undertaken in 2016 – 2017.
  • Results of the 2016 gravity survey and 2017 MT survey conducted by Bradda Head geologists at its Wilson asset in Nevada indicated the potential presence of a brine-enriched basin up to 5 km long and up to 400 m deep. The interpreted structures and architecture are consistent with the lithium-bearing brine deposit models identified in the adjacent Clayton Valley area (Albemarle, Silver Peak).
  • Permission has been granted for two 305 m holes to test the basin identified from the previous gravity and MT surveys.
  • Additional exploration at the project involved a 2016 surface sampling programme which returned promising grades of up to 192 ppm Li in clay.
  • The objective of the drilling programme is to obtain brine samples for geochemical testing, develop a better understanding of the hydrogeology, and to conduct lithological logging of the shallow clay sediments to learn more about the deposit(s) at Wilson.
  • Due to the prospective lithium grades at surface, the Bradda Head team plan to follow up with a surface drilling programme, which is now being planned as well as the brine geochemical testing programme now permitted.

Bradda Head has been granted permission by the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to drill two holes – 305 m in depth each and approximately 2 km apart – to conduct geochemical testing of the lithium brine at its Wilson Flat Project located in Nye County in Nevada, USA. Wilson is approximately 130 km east of Albemarle’s Silver Peak lithium brine operation in Clayton Valley, Nevada, and approximately 115 km east of American Lithium’s TLC project in Nevada. The Wilson Flat Project consists of 13.6 km2 of federal mining claims.

Exploration to date has involved surface sampling, a 2016 gravity survey and a 2017 MT survey. MT surveys are especially useful in the determination of saline (brine) lakebed fills. Results of the gravity and MT surveys indicated the potential presence of a brine-enriched basin fill up to 5 km long. The interpreted structures and architecture are consistent with the lithium-bearing brine deposit models identified in the adjacent Clayton Valley area (Albemarle, Silver Peak).

A deep basin containing a thick sequence of saturated sedimentary formations is apparently present beneath the Wilson Flat property. In addition, surface sediment samples taken in 2016 are enriched in lithium (up to 192 Óppm) whilst water bores located 1km east containing elevated levels of lithium (1.2 ppm) support the hypothesis of enriched lithium waters at depth in the identified basin.

The anomalous surface results (up to 192 ppm Li) and the presence of lithium mineralisation at surface adds to the potential for sedimentary lithium deposits as well as the identified brine target at depth.

For comparison of the sedimentary resource potential at Wilson, American Lithium’s sedimentary TLC project is approximately 115 km from Wilson and covers 30.5 km2, and has a Maiden resource of 7.1 t of Lithium Carbonate Equivalent (LCE). Bradda’s Wilson claims cover an area of 13.6 km2.

Charles FitzRoy, CEO of Bradda Head, comments:

“We are delighted to have received the BLM drill permits and to be initiating test drilling at our Wilson Project.

“The surface sampling so far on the project has shown very encouraging results of as much as 192 ppm Li, and the MT survey has indicated the presence of lithium brine deposits starting at 150 m and being up to 5 km long, which also corresponds with our geological model for Wilson.

“Our exploration success at Basin, our on-going exploration at San Domingo and our now-permitted drill program at Wilson provides us with confidence that our strategy of simultaneously developing the key lithium deposit types of clays, pegmatites, and brines in a coordinated manner is the right one.

“Alongside the brine target that the Bradda team are exploring is the potential for sedimentary lithium deposits too, similar to our neighbours in Nevada, American Lithium. The lithological logging will help us understand the deposit(s) better and build on our existing geological model, especially in the shallower sediments near surface.”

Read the article online at: https://www.globalminingreview.com/mining/16022022/bradda-head-lithium-receives-drilling-permits/

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This article has been tagged under the following:

US mining news Lithium mining news North American mining news