Fulcrum Lithium (ASX:FUL): What Comes Next at Nevada’s Dry Canyon Project?

Sonal Goyal

03 November 2026 06:40 PM AEDT

Fulcrum Lithium (ASX:FUL): What Comes Next at Nevada’s Dry Canyon Project?

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Highlights

Fulcrum Lithium has defined a large-scale maiden Mineral Resource Estimate at its Alkali Flats project in Nevada, ranking it among the largest lithium resources in the United States.
The company is progressing a maiden drilling program at the Dry Canyon project, targeting shallow, thick, high-grade lithium claystone targets identified by geophysics.
Alkali Flats metallurgical work has demonstrated favourable early extraction results across multiple processing pathways, including lower-cost heap leach options.
The company is focused on advancing from resource definition into technical and commercial de-risking, with a scoping study targeted for 2027.

Fulcrum Lithium Ltd (ASX:FUL) has provided investors with a comprehensive update on its progress since listing on the ASX in November 2024, covering the definition of a large-scale maiden Mineral Resource at its Alkali Flats project in Nevada, the upcoming maiden drilling campaign at the adjacent Dry Canyon project, and the company's pathway towards technical and commercial de-risking of its US lithium position.

Alkali Flats — A Large Nevada Lithium Resource

The Alkali Flats project, located in Nevada's emerging lithium belt, hosts a maiden Mineral Resource Estimate defined in August 2026 following a systematic exploration program conducted since the company's IPO. The resource was defined across multiple classification categories, with a meaningful proportion in higher-confidence Measured and Indicated categories, reflecting the geological continuity and drilling density achieved during the exploration campaign. Alkali Flats is positioned as the seventh-largest lithium resource in the United States on a contained lithium carbonate equivalent basis.

The deposit is hosted in lithium-bearing claystone formations characteristic of ancient lake Basin environments in the Basin and Range province of Nevada. These formations are geologically flat-lying, laterally extensive, and accessible from surface, which confers practical advantages in terms of drilling efficiency, resource definition, and future mine planning compared to more structurally complex deposit types. Nevada's established Mining jurisdiction, existing road and rail infrastructure, and proximity to the US battery Supply chain add further strategic context to the project's location.

Metallurgical work conducted to date has returned favourable extraction results across multiple processing pathways. Both sulfuric acid leach and roast-calcination followed by water leach approaches have demonstrated extraction efficiencies consistent with the positive outcomes seen at peer Nevada claystone projects. The company has also trialled lower-cost heap leach Options in scoping tests, with preliminary results sufficiently encouraging to Warrant further investigation. Early beneficiation tests have indicated the potential to reduce the mass of material requiring full processing treatment, which could have a meaningful effect on future unit operating costs.

Dry Canyon — The Next Exploration Target

The Dry Canyon project, located nearby within Fulcrum's Nevada landholding, has emerged as a high-priority exploration target based on surface sampling and geophysical survey results. High-grade lithium surface samples — including a number above 1,000 parts per million — along with extensive continuous low-resistivity geophysical anomalies consistent with thick lithium-bearing claystone at shallow depth, form the basis of the company's confidence in this target. The planned maiden drill program of up to eleven holes is approved, with rig sourcing underway and drilling targeted before year-end 2026.

Success at Dry Canyon could add a second large-scale lithium deposit to Fulcrum's portfolio alongside Alkali Flats, materially increasing the company's aggregate resource base. The combination of scale, geological characteristics, and proximity to the US lithium supply chain infrastructure being developed in Nevada underpins the company's view that Nevada claystones represent the next major domestic supply source for the US battery and energy storage sector.

Key Insights

Fulcrum Lithium has moved with notable pace from IPO to maiden resource definition, navigating a challenging period for the broader lithium sector. The combination of a large, well-defined resource base at Alkali Flats, favourable early metallurgical results, and a high-impact exploration target at Dry Canyon provides the company with a coherent near-term growth story. The pathway to value realisation runs through successful Dry Canyon drilling results, upgrades to the Alkali Flats resource in the higher-grade eastern trend, and advancement of a scoping study that can begin to frame the project's development economics. The broader US policy environment — with significant government support for domestic critical mineral supply chains — provides a supportive backdrop for projects of this nature in Nevada.

FAQs

Q: What is Alkali Flats?

A: Alkali Flats is Fulcrum Lithium's flagship project in Nevada. It hosts a maiden Mineral Resource Estimate ranking it among the largest lithium resources in the United States, defined across Measured, Indicated, and Inferred categories from lithium-bearing claystone formations.

Q: What is the Dry Canyon project?

A: Dry Canyon is an adjacent exploration project within Fulcrum's Nevada landholding. Geophysical surveys and surface sampling have identified large, shallow, thick lithium claystone targets with high-grade potential. A maiden drill program is planned before the end of 2026.

Q: What are Nevada lithium claystones?

A: Nevada lithium claystones are ancient lake-bed sedimentary deposits bearing lithium mineralisation. They are characterised by large scale, flat-lying geometry, and relatively straightforward geology, making them potentially amenable to low-cost open-cut mining and on-site processing.

Q: What metallurgical work has been done at Alkali Flats?

A: Early metallurgical tests have demonstrated favourable lithium extraction rates across multiple processing pathways, including acid leach and roast-water leach approaches. Lower-cost heap leach options have also shown encouraging early results.

Q: What is Fulcrum's development timeline?

A: The company is targeting Dry Canyon drill results by early 2027, resource upgrades at Alkali Flats in the first half of 2027, and a scoping study later in 2027 as part of its commercial de-risking program.

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