Bradda Head Lithium Ltd said it has received conditional permission to begin a drilling programme at its San Domingo pegmatite district in Arizona, US.

The AIM-traded company has permission for an initial 30-hole drilling programme, pending a bond payment adjudication. Drilling is expected to start as soon as the bond payment has been received, usually in no more than 30 days, it said.

The San Domingo asset was mined at surface in the 1940s and 1950s for lithium and other minerals. Claims were initially staked by Bradda Head after grab samples taken by the company in 2016 demonstrated the presence of lithium in spodumene in grades ranging up to 8% lithium oxide (Li2O).

READ: Bradda Head highlights positive results from geophysics at San Domingo, with drilling planned next year

The company has already locked in a diamond drilling contractor. It noted that the drilling market in the US continues to be very tight, and having a committed drilling contractor early on is important.

"If a viable pegmatite deposit is identified we would be able to put it into production in a relatively short timeframe, as pegmatite mining is very well understood and accounts for well over 50% of world lithium supply currently,” reiterated chief executive Charles FitzRoy.

“Positive results from this programme would likely attract attention from larger mining companies,” he added.