ASX-listed Mandrake Resources has received the required permitting from the US federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for the re-entry of two wells at the 379 km2 Utah lithium project, in the Paradox basin.
BLM approval follows the submission by Mandrake of a detailed Notice of Intent submitted to both the BLM and Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining, which outlined proposed exploration and well development activities.
Permitting allows for the re-configuration of existing oil and gas wells through additional perforations and/or isolation of additional potentially lithium-bearing reservoirs.
This will facilitate the specific targeting of brine reservoirs modelled as containing relatively high concentrations of lithium. The use of existing oil and gas wellbores is highly cost-effective when compared to the drilling of a new well.
Detailed drilling workplans have been completed for both wells, as have detailed well engineering and sampling programmes.
Field operations will start following the publication of a Joint Ore Rources Committe-compliant lithium exploration target for the Utah project, along with results from direct lithium extraction (DLE) testing.
DLE testing results are pending from two independent DLE providers seeking to produce lithium hydroxide directly from brine derived from the project.