Bradda Head Lithium Ltd (AIM:BHL) said exploration drilling started at its Wikieup project in Arizona last Friday following the receipt of drilling permits.

The drilling programme is for 28 holes (3,000 metres), around three times the size of the recent Burro Creek East drill programme, and covers portions of the Wikieup project claims.

Bradda Head is using sonic drilling, which is more environmentally sensitive as it uses very little water compared to diamond core drilling or reverse circulation.

Surface samples with grades of up to 1,750 parts per million lithium have been identified at Wikieup and the company said its geologists are confident that the drill programme will confirm the prospectivity of the project and define additional lithium mineralisation to support a maiden resource estimate for the project in the second quarter of 2022.

Bradda Head recently completed a 10-hole (1,144 metre) diamond drill programme at its Burro Creek East project in Arizona, where an updated resource is due in the first quarter of next year.

READ: Bradda Head Lithium completes core drilling programme at Burro Creek East project

“With exploration already yielding positive results at our other assets in Arizona, we are confident that this drilling programme will support the promising initial results from our 2021 geophysics programme and demonstrate the resource size potential at Wikieup," said chief executive Charles FitzRoy.

"The commencement of a second drilling programme in five months demonstrates our intent to accelerate exploration and fully develop our asset base in Arizona and Nevada, as well as playing a part in the crucial supply of lithium to US end-users.

“We recently announced a conditional royalty with LRC for up to $10mln, a deal which would allow us to drill on most of our sedimentary claims and start a scoping or PEA [preliminary ecological appraisal]-style technical study without the need for coming to the market for funds."

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