LE Minerals Maps Lithium Brine Across White Plains Upper Aquifer
LE Minerals has confirmed lithium-bearing brines across its White Plains project in Utah, with 12 direct push holes returning grades of up to 114 mg/L at 15 metres. The company will now work towards a maiden JORC Mineral Resource, although five southern auger sites produced no brine and several claims were not renewed.
- 12 drill holes completed on an approximately 2km by 2km grid
- Lithium grades of 52.1 to 114 mg/L at 15 metres
- Surface auger samples returned up to 101.5 mg/L where brine was obtained
- Upper Aquifer interpreted to extend to at least 30 metres from prior MT surveys
- Maiden JORC Mineral Resource Estimate now planned
Drilling Confirms Lithium Brine at Depth
LE Minerals Limited (ASX:LEL) has moved White Plains from a geophysical target towards a resource-definition exercise after 12 direct push holes confirmed lithium-bearing brines across the Utah project. Samples collected at depths of 13 to 15 metres returned lithium grades between 52.1 mg/L and 114 mg/L, with every drill hole intercepting a standing column of brine from surface to the base of the hole.
The highest result came from hole WP007 at 114 mg/L. Other results included 99.7 mg/L at WP004 and 79.3 mg/L at WP003, while the lowest assay was 52.1 mg/L at WP012. The holes were spaced on an approximate 2km by 2km grid, giving the company broad-spaced evidence that mineralisation is not confined to a single isolated location.
Surface Sampling Shows Similar Grades
Near-surface auger sampling produced a broadly comparable picture where brine was recovered. The 2-metre samples returned lithium grades from 55.5 mg/L to 101.5 mg/L, including the program’s only result above 100 mg/L at WP32. LE Minerals said the grades were similar to its 2025 surface sampling results.
That result is encouraging for continuity, but the southern edge of the tenement package is less clear. Five of the southernmost auger sites did not produce surface brine, and claims 682 to 731 in Toole County were not renewed on 1 September 2026. The filing does not establish whether the missing brine reflects local hydrogeology, sampling conditions or a meaningful limit to the mineralised area.
Maiden JORC Resource Becomes the Next Test
LE Minerals intends to use the new assays alongside its 2025 surface sampling, passive seismic work and magnetotelluric surveys to define a maiden JORC Mineral Resource Estimate for the Upper Aquifer. The earlier MT work indicated that the aquifer may persist to at least 30 metres, but the current drilling reached only 15 metres. The deeper extent therefore remains an interpretation rather than a drilling result from this campaign.
The company’s own technical disclosure also matters here: the reported assays are point samples, not representative drill intersections, and no external audit or review of the data has been completed. A resource estimate would give the results a more formal geological framework, but it would not by itself resolve questions around brine recoverability, lithium extraction performance, project economics or the status of the unrenewed southern claims.
Upper and Deep Aquifers Remain Separate Opportunities
White Plains covers approximately 5,769 hectares of staked claims plus exploration rights over about 2,340 hectares of Utah state mineral leases. The project sits near Wendover and adjacent to US Highway 80, while the wider Utah region hosts several lithium and potash projects targeting direct lithium extraction. LE Minerals has also flagged possible follow-up drilling to assess both the Upper and Deep Aquifers, including brine chemistry and physical characteristics.
The immediate catalyst is the maiden resource work. Its methodology, classification and treatment of the five brine-free southern sites will determine whether the latest assays amount to a coherent resource base or remain a promising but shallow exploration snapshot.
Bottom Line?
The drilling has established widespread lithium-bearing brine to 15 metres, but the next resource estimate must convert point samples and geophysical interpretation into a defensible volume and grade model.
Questions in the middle?
- What tonnage and resource classification can LE Minerals support from the broad-spaced Upper Aquifer sampling?
- Will deeper drilling confirm lithium-bearing brines beyond the 15-metre limit tested in this campaign?
- How will the five brine-free southern sites and the unrenewed claims affect the project’s eventual footprint?
