ASX-listed lithium developer Mandrake Resources has started swabbing activities at its Evelyn Chambers #1 well in Utah.

Mandrake's work on the well is partly supported by a $1-million federal grant having been awarded by the US Department of Energy to the Paradox Basin Lithium Group.

Mandrake is using a swabbing unit at Evelyn Chambers #1 to extract bulk lithium brine volumes from existing perforations in the main Mississippian Leadville Formation target reservoir.

The existing perforations were designed to extract oil and gas (now depleted) and are therefore not optimised for targeting modelled high grade lithium concentrations within the Leadville Formation.

A purpose-drilled lithium brine well would enable more selective targeting of these zones, but is estimated to cost about $4-million.

Mandrake confirms that bulk brine will transferred into storage totes and supplied initially to Electroflow Technologies and several other direct lithium extraction (DLE) providers.

Electroflow's DLE demonstration plant, in particular, will be supplied with 10 000 litres of lithium brine where the material will be subject to a comprehensive technical and commercial appraisal.

Electroflow intends to produce battery-grade lithium carbonate and lithium iron phosphate from Mandrake's brines.

The output of the appraisal will provide vital purity, recovery and costing data which will, in turn, form the basis of forthcoming scoping studies.

Depending on specific well conditions, brine production from the Evelyn Chambers #1 well will facilitate flow and pressure testing, chemical analysis of brine over staged pumping periods and reservoir deliverability.

This information will be vital for forthcoming commercial modelling and scoping studies.

Mandrake comments that improved sentiment in the in global lithium market has renewed investor and corporate interest in the lithium market, with the company assessing several opportunities relating to the
development of its Utah lithium project.