Bradda Head gets conditional approval to drill at San Domingo

North America-focussed Bradda Head Lithium has received conditional permission to begin a drilling programme at the San Domingo pegmatite district in Arizona, it announced on Tuesday.

The AIM-traded firm said the permission was for a 30-hole drilling programme, pending a bond payment adjudication.

Drilling was expected to start as soon as the bond payment was received, which it said “usually” took no more than 30 days.

Bradda Head noted that the San Domingo pegmatite district was mined at surface previously in the 1940s and 1950s for lithium and other minerals.

Its claims were initially staked after grab samples taken by the company’s geological team in 2016 demonstrated the presence of lithium-in-spodumene in grades ranging up to 8% lithium oxide.

Following recent fieldwork, including mapping, geophysics, surface sampling, and a 3D mapping exercise conducted by SRK, Bradda Head said it had designed and had received permission to proceed with an initial 30-hole, 7,000 metre drill programme.

Drilling would start with a diamond drilling contractor that the company had “locked-in” for some time.

The drilling market in the United States was still “very tight”, the board said, so having a committed drilling contractor early was important.

It said the 30-hole programme was being planned around the ongoing 3D mapping conducted by SRK, and the geophysics carried out by Terravision.

A diamond drill programme would help the firm investigate the initial results further, the board explained, as well as the potential for a large, mineralised pegmatite system.

Previous surface sampling at named outcropping pegmatites in the San Domingo claim block returned lithium oxide grades of 1.44% at Midnight Owl, 0.35% at Joker, 2.49% at White Ridge, 1.62% at Lower Jumbo, 0.67% at Sunrise, and 0.92% at North Morning Star.

The company confirmed it would be the first drill programme at the San Domingo project.

“The results of our previous geophysical campaign demonstrated that there is potential for the extension of pegmatite mineralisation at depth, which also aligns with previous geological modelling from the company's geological team,” said chief executive officer Charles FitzRoy.

“This will be the first drill programme on our San Domingo project and is very exciting for Bradda.

“If a viable pegmatite deposit is identified we would be able to put it into production in a relatively short time frame, as pegmatite mining is very well understood and accounts for well over 50% of world lithium supply currently.”

FitzRoy said positive results from the programme would “likely attract attention” from larger mining companies.

“San Domingo is a key asset in Bradda's portfolio, and we look forward to commencing our drilling programme shortly and also to releasing results from SRK's mapping project showing the next steps in Bradda's programme at our pegmatite district in Arizona.

“Interestingly, other mineralisation types also exist on our claims at San Domingo, which the company will be exploring further.”

At 1233 BST, shares in Bradda Head Lithium were up 1.69% at 9p.

Reporting by Josh White at Sharecast.com.