Highlights

  • Swabbing at Evelyn Chambers #1 extracted over 8,000 litres of brine, which Electroflow Technologies will test technically and commercially.
  • The Utah Lithium Project spans about 77,700 acres and holds a 3.3 million tonne Inferred resource of lithium carbonate equivalent.
  • A 3,000 metre reverse circulation program covering 19 holes began at the Berinka Gold-Copper Project after the quarter ended.
  • Cash fell to A$10.345 million from A$11.668 million, and the company estimated 7.82 quarters of funding.

More than 8,000 litres of lithium brine have left a well in Utah bound for a direct lithium extraction provider. Mandrake Resources (ASX:MAN) reported on 28 October 2026 that swabbing at the Evelyn Chambers #1 well, at its Utah Lithium Project, extracted the brine from existing perforations in the Leadville Formation. It went to Electroflow Technologies Inc for technical and commercial testing. Meanwhile, drilling has started at Berinka in the Northern Territory.

Brine testing in Utah

Mandrake said Electroflow intends to produce battery-grade lithium carbonate and lithium iron phosphate, and that the results will inform purity, recovery and costing data for future scoping studies. Brine is also to be supplied to other extraction providers.

The existing perforations were designed for oil and gas, which is now depleted, and are not optimised for the modelled high-grade lithium zones. A US$1 million US Department of Energy grant to the Paradox Basin Lithium Group, whose members include Idaho National Laboratories, the National Laboratory of the Rockies, the University of Utah and Mandrake, covered most operating costs.

The Utah project

The 100 per cent owned project covers about 77,700 acres, or roughly 315 square kilometres, in south-eastern Utah. Its Inferred Mineral Resource of 3.3 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent was announced on 22 October 2024, and the company said no materially new information has emerged since. Three Utah state brine leases were held at quarter end that were not held at the start, and the company said its claims, leases and operating basis agreement give it 100 per cent of the lithium rights.

Berinka gold-copper drilling

A 3,000 metre reverse circulation program began after the quarter at the 100 per cent owned Berinka Gold-Copper Project. The plan covers 19 holes, FBRC019 to FBRC037, though hole identifiers and locations may change. Targets include gold-copper at vein intersections, extensions of veining at Terry's Prospect, and splay anomalies off the Giant's Reef Fault.

The report cited historical drilling, including 6 metres at 2.3 grams per tonne gold and 0.34 per cent copper from 5 metres in hole FBRC013. Those are past results, and the new program has not yet returned assays. Nearby gold deposits held by other companies were listed for context and are not Mandrake resources.

Cash and corporate

Cash at 30 September 2026 was A$10.345 million, down from A$11.668 million at 30 June. Net operating cash outflow was A$1.323 million, including A$1.217 million of exploration and evaluation payments and A$249,000 of administration costs. There is no debt, and related-party payments were A$129,000. Shares on issue were 627,259,920. The company is pursuing organic and inorganic growth in the United States and internationally.

Tenure, people and next milestones

The tenement schedule lists Utah uranium and lithium claims, three state brine leases and exploration licence EL31710 at Berinka, each held at 100 per cent. The board comprises Chairman and Company Secretary Lloyd Flint, Managing Director James Allchurch and non-executive director Roger Fitzhardinge.

The report gave no dates for the extraction test results, but the Electroflow work is intended to feed future scoping studies. Brine testing and exploration drilling do not establish an economic project, and no mining production or development activity took place during the quarter.