Why Mandrake Resources (ASX:MAN) swabbed more than 8,000 litres of lithium brine in Utah and started drilling at Berinka in the Northern Territory

Sonal Goyal

28 October 2026 04:40 PM AEDT

Why Mandrake Resources (ASX:MAN) swabbed more than 8,000 litres of lithium brine in Utah and started drilling at Berinka in the Northern Territory

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Key Highlights

More than 8,000 litres of lithium brine were swabbed from the Evelyn Chambers #1 well and delivered to Electroflow Technologies for extraction testing.
A 3,000 metre, 19-hole reverse circulation program began at the Berinka Gold-Copper Project after quarter end.
Cash was A$10.345 million at 30 September 2026, down from A$11.668 million, with 7.82 quarters of funding estimated.

Brine testing in Utah

Mandrake Resources (ASX:MAN) reported on 28 October 2026 that swabbing at the Evelyn Chambers #1 well at its Utah Lithium Project extracted more than 8,000 litres of lithium brine from existing perforations in the Leadville Formation. The brine was delivered to Electroflow Technologies Inc, a US-based direct lithium extraction provider, for technical and commercial testing. 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 company noted that 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 Utah Lithium Project is 100 per cent owned and covers about 77,700 acres, or roughly 315 square kilometres, in south-eastern Utah. It carries an Inferred Mineral Resource of 3.3 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent, 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 of the quarter, and the company said its claims, leases and operating basis agreement give it 100 per cent of the lithium rights. Mandrake paid annual claim fees of US$761,824, or A$1,063,145, to the Bureau of Land Management and Utah's school trust lands agency.

Berinka gold-copper drilling

After the quarter ended, a 3,000 metre reverse circulation program began at the 100 per cent owned Berinka Gold-Copper Project in the Northern Territory. The plan covers 19 holes, FBRC019 to FBRC037, though the company said 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. These are past results and the new program has not yet returned assays.

The report also listed nearby gold deposits held by other companies for context. Those 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 exploration and evaluation payments of A$1.217 million and administration costs of A$249,000. The company has no debt and estimated 7.82 quarters of funding. Related-party payments were A$129,000. Shares on issue were 627,259,920, and the report quoted a share price of 1.9 cents and a market capitalisation of A$11.9 million. The company said it is pursuing organic and inorganic growth in the United States and internationally.

Tenure and people

The tenement schedule at 30 September lists Utah uranium claims MANLBLM-1 to MANLBLM-12, Utah lithium claims MANPBLM-1 to MANPBLM-3036, an operating basis agreement, three state brine leases and the Northern Territory 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. Mr Allchurch is the Competent Person for the report.

Next milestones

The report did not give dates for the extraction test results, but said the Electroflow work is intended to feed future scoping studies. The Berinka drilling is under way, with assays to follow. Brine testing and exploration drilling do not establish an economic project, and the company stated that no mining production or development activity took place during the quarter.

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