Bradda Head unveils Basin Project survey results

Bradda Head Lithium unveiled findings from a recent gravity survey conducted at its Basin clay project in Arizona on Wednesday.

The AIM-traded firm said the survey, completed in late 2023 and meticulously processed thereafter, revealed a substantial gravity low over the Basin North area.

It said the discovery was interpreted as a deep, depositional centre for sedimentary rocks, indicating promising potential for lithium deposits.

The interpretation of the gravity low suggested the presence of thicker clay beds within both the Upper and Lower Clay sequences.

Those beds could potentially be substantially thicker than previously reported lithium-in-clay intersections from the company's current 43-101 compliant resource.

Furthermore, the gravity results led to on-ground reconnaissance efforts, resulting in the discovery of new clay and distinct marker bed silica nodules, indicating a shallow setting for the entire clay sequence below post-mineral tuffs and basalt layers.

The significant findings prompted Bradda Head Lithium to stake 2.8 square kilometres of new lode and placer claims to the north on open Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land, expanding the clay potential considerably.

Bradda Head said it saw an opportunity to extend the clay deposit to the north and west, with over 11 square kilometres of property yet to be explored.

The developments added confidence to Bradda's ambition to achieve a new resource of over 2.5 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) by the end of the upcoming drilling campaign.

It said the gravity survey was the first-ever gravity geophysical survey of its kind conducted at Basin, covering the entire property with 130 points across an approximate 32 square kilometre area.

Sample stations were strategically collected, providing insights into the property's geological composition, ranging from Precambrian granites and granodiorite in the basement rock to clays, tuffs, and basalt layers in the central Basin area.

Notably, the gravity low corresponded to the thickening of the Upper Clay horizon and potentially the Lower Clay horizon, indicating continuity of the Upper Clay for another 2.7 kilometres northward from the last drill hole in 2023.

To capitalise on the findings, Bradda Head said it had added an additional 39 lode claims further north, covering potentially thick clay sequences and discovering clay outcrops in the northeastern portion of the newly added claims.

“The results from this first-ever gravity based geophysical survey in our Basin district in Arizona add to our confidence to reach our new target resource number of 2.5 million tonnes of LCE with a limited amount of further drilling,” said executive chairman Ian Stalker.

“This cost-effective campaign is designed to allow us to unlock a further $3m payment from LRC, the royalty company that has an existing royalty agreement with us.”

Stalker said the potential existence of thicker clay beds in both the Upper and Lower Clay sequences was “hugely encouraging”, and reaffirmed the company’s understanding of the Basin Project as an important resource for lithium-in-clay.

“The additional discovery of the new clay and silica nodule beds to the north is indicative of favourable open pit based mining conditions, further promoting the value of this project.”

At 1125 GMT, shares in Bradda Head Lithium were up 11.21% at 1.61p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.