Anson Resources has secured approval for 17 additional Utah lease blocks covering 16.02 square kilometres inside the Green River Lithium Project’s resource area of interest. The company says the expanded ground could support a larger JORC resource without further drilling, but the proposed exploration target remains conceptual and the lease is not yet signed.
- 17 additional SITLA blocks approved in Utah
- 3,958-acre, or 16.02-square-kilometre, land addition
- Potential 18.4% increase in the Green River land package
- 294-311 million-tonne conceptual brine exploration target
- Q4 2026 JORC resource upgrade targeted
Utah approval expands Green River land position
Anson Resources Limited (ASX:ASN) has added a sizeable piece to its Green River Lithium Project, with Utah’s School and Institutional Trust Land Administration approving 17 additional blocks covering 3,958 acres, or 16.02 square kilometres. Anson says the new tenure could increase the project’s land parcel by 18.4% and sits within the area of interest covered by its existing JORC resource.
The approval is not quite the final legal step: the “Other Business Administration” lease still needs to be signed by both Anson and SITLA. Once executed, the lease would extend the project area immediately beside privately owned land and the proposed processing plant location, according to the company.
Exploration target points to potential resource growth
Anson has interpreted a conceptual exploration target of 294 million to 311 million tonnes of brine grading between 100 and 130 parts per million lithium across the newly approved OBA area and previously granted FFSL ground. That equates to an estimated 29,400 to 40,430 tonnes of contained lithium, or 156,491 to 215,201 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent.
The OBA component accounts for most of the target, with 235 million to 240 million tonnes of brine and 125,086 to 166,072 tonnes of estimated lithium carbonate equivalent. The figures are based on geological and assay information from Anson’s wells and historical oil and gas wells, alongside assumptions including a six per cent specific yield and brine density of 1.13 grams per cubic centimetre.
That headline tonnage needs a firm qualification. Anson states the target is conceptual, is not a Mineral Resource, and has not yet been subjected to a JORC interpretation estimating an extension to the existing resource. The company also says it remains uncertain whether further work will result in an additional Mineral Resource.
Q4 resource update becomes the next test
Anson plans to appoint an independent consultant to review the current resource and incorporate the OBA and FFSL areas into a JORC update targeted for the fourth quarter of 2026. The company expects to pursue its resource-growth goal without additional exploration drilling, which it says could limit near-term expenditure and shorten the timeline for the upgrade.
The existing Green River JORC estimate contains 145,000 tonnes of lithium and 773,000 tonnes of contained lithium carbonate equivalent, split between indicated and inferred categories. The planned update is intended to support the project’s Definitive Feasibility Study, which Anson identifies as the next step towards advancing funding plans in 2027. The important conversion will be whether the new ground produces compliant resource tonnes rather than simply a larger conceptual target.
Bottom Line?
The lease approval improves Green River’s resource-growth case, but the investment thesis now turns on lease execution and whether the conceptual target converts into a compliant JORC resource in Q4.
Questions in the middle?
- When will Anson and SITLA execute the OBA lease?
- How much of the exploration target can be converted into a JORC Mineral Resource?
- Can the resource update support the Definitive Feasibility Study without additional drilling?