MAN identifies cost effective wells for lithium exploration
Our US based lithium Investment Mandrake Resources (ASX: MAN) has shortlisted a minimum of six wells it will look to re-enter at its project in Utah.
Since first announcing its entry into the US MAN has primarily been focused on pegging more ground and increasing its landholding to now sit at ~88,096 acres (~358km^2) - a ~60% increase in size.
Now the focus is on exploration and instead of drilling completely new wells to begin with, MAN is looking to re-enter old oil and gas wells in the area with a focus on lithium.
The cost of re-entering these wells can be ~10x less than drilling a new well so it makes sense to take this approach.
As of today, MAN has a minimum of six wells it is considering re-entering (ranked based on geological potential and ease of accessibility).
Next it will be about getting a well access agreement signed.
Ultimately, MAN is looking to emulate the success of its neighbour in the region Anson Resources which is capped at ~$270M and has a JORC resource of 1.04Mt of Lithium Carbonate Equivalent (LCE) and 5.27Mt of Bromine.
What’s next for MAN?
Maiden exploration target 🔄
With MAN confirming today that it will start preparing lithium sampling programs, the company is likely to have leased as much ground as it would have liked before starting exploration.
The focus now shifts to exploration, and we are looking forward to MAN putting out an exploration target for its project before the quarter ends.
Lithium sampling program 🔄
Once the exploration target is confirmed, it will be all about progressing the work needed to convert that exploration target into a maiden JORC resource estimate (e.g. sampling existing wells and potentially drilling a new well).
