Anson Resources Expands Utah Lithium Ground 18% Ahead of Q4 Resource Upgrade
Key Takeaways
- Utah's state government has approved 17 additional SITLA OBA lease blocks covering 3,958 acres (16.02 km²), expanding Anson Resources' Green River Lithium Project land package by 18.4%.
- Every one of the new blocks falls within the existing JORC Resource Area of Interest, meaning the Q4 2026 resource upgrade requires no additional drilling — only tenure formalisation.
- Combined with the previously approved FFSL lease, the two new areas total 20.78 km² of ground feeding directly into the upcoming JORC upgrade and subsequent Definitive Feasibility Study.
- The exploration target across the new OBA and FFSL leases implies between 29,400 and 40,430 tonnes of lithium (156,491–215,201 tonnes LCE), sitting on top of an existing JORC resource of 145,000 tonnes lithium and 773,000 tonnes LCE.
- The OBA lease sits immediately adjacent to Anson's proposed processing plant site — this is operational core ground, not peripheral acreage.
Utah approves additional SITLA mineral rights, potentially expanding Anson’s Green River Lithium Project by 18.4%
Utah’s state government has approved Anson Resources’ application for 17 additional SITLA blocks as one “Other Business Administration (OBA)” lease, representing a potential 18.4% expansion of the Green River Lithium Project land package. The new tenure covers 3,958 acres (16.02 km²), with 100% of all new blocks falling within the existing JORC Resource Area of Interest (AOI).
The project is held through Anson’s 100%-owned US subsidiary, Blackstone Minerals NV LLC. The OBA lease is yet to be formally signed by both parties, though state government approval represents the critical preceding step.
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Q4 2026 JORC upgrade on track — no further drilling required
Anson’s strategy for growing its JORC resource estimate is built on land tenure expansion rather than additional drilling. The OBA approval slots directly into this approach, combining with the previously approved Utah Division of Forest, Fire, and State Lands (FFSL) lease (announced 3 August 2026) to create a combined new area of 20.78 km² for inclusion in the next JORC resource update.
The JORC upgrade is expected in Q4 2026 and will serve as a key input to support the company’s Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS), as referenced in the ASX announcement dated 9 July 2026. The DFS represents the next step in the company’s plan to advance project funding in 2027.
The Green River well re-entry approval secured earlier in 2026 represents a parallel strand of project advancement, with Anson progressing both subsurface access and land tenure expansion as complementary inputs to its DFS timeline.
For investors, the absence of additional drilling means lower capital expenditure and a faster pathway to the resource upgrade — a meaningful efficiency point at this stage of project development.
An exploration target has been interpreted for the newly acquired leases based on data from existing exploration drilling and the calculated JORC resource. The target covers only the Mississippian units in the project area.
| Category | Brine Tons Min | Brine Tons Max | Li ppm Min | Li ppm Max | Li (t) Min | Li (t) Max | Li₂CO₃ (t) Min | Li₂CO₃ (t) Max |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OBA Lease | 235,000,000 | 240,000,000 | 100 | 130 | 23,500 | 31,200 | 125,086 | 166,072 |
| FFSL Lease | 59,000,000 | 71,000,000 | 100 | 130 | 5,900 | 9,230 | 31,405 | 49,129 |
| TOTAL | 294,000,000 | 311,000,000 | 29,400 | 40,430 | 156,491 | 215,201 |
Clarification Statement: An Exploration Target is not a Mineral Resource. The potential quantity and grade of an Exploration Target is conceptual in nature. A Mineral Resource has been identified abutting the Exploration Target, but there has not been a JORC interpretation completed to estimate any extension to the Mineral Resource, and it is uncertain if further work will result in the estimation of an additional Mineral Resource.
What is a SITLA OBA lease, and why does it matter for lithium investors?
Understanding the mechanism behind this approval helps investors assess its significance. SITLA — the School and Institutional Trust Land Administration — administers state trust lands for public benefit, and not all tenure mechanisms available through SITLA are equal.
Key points for investors:
- SITLA administers Utah state trust lands on behalf of public beneficiaries, with mineral leasing forming a significant part of its remit
- An OBA (Other Business Administration) lease is a special mechanism designed to bring significant projects into production, not a routine mineral claim
- The new OBA lease area sits immediately adjacent to the privately owned land parcel and Anson’s proposed processing plant site — a critical locational advantage for any future development
- Approval by the Utah state government signals formal recognition of the project’s strategic significance
- The OBA lease is yet to be formally signed by both Anson and SITLA
The adjacency to the proposed processing plant location is particularly relevant. It means the newly secured tenure is not peripheral acreage — it is directly contiguous to the operational core of the planned project.
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Existing JORC resource anchors the expanded project footprint
The new tenure is being added to a resource base that already carries substantial contained lithium. The existing JORC Mineral Resource, upgraded as reported in the ASX announcement dated 13 May 2026, provides the foundation against which the upcoming upgrade will be measured.
| Category | Aquifer Volume (km³) | Brine Volume (km³) | Average Li (mg/l) | Porosity (%) | Brine in Pore Spaces (%) | Lithium (t) | Contained LCE (t) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indicated | 4.482 | 0.269 | 127.8 | 6 | 100 | 34,000 | 183,000 |
| Inferred | 14.467 | 0.868 | 127.8 | 6 | 100 | 111,000 | 590,000 |
| TOTAL | 18.949 | 1.137 | 127.8 | 145,000 | 773,000 |
The existing resource stands at 145,000 tonnes of lithium and 773,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE), with an average grade of 127.8 mg/l across both Indicated and Inferred categories.
The OBA lease area falls within the JORC Resource AOI. With no additional drilling planned, the company expects the Q4 2026 JORC upgrade to reflect the expanded tenure footprint — growing the resource estimate by incorporating the combined 20.78 km² of new ground rather than through new holes in the ground.
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