Great Western Mining Corporation (AIM:GWMO), the AIM-listed strategic minerals explorer, said drilling at its Defender Tungsten Project in Mineral County, Nevada is set to begin within two weeks.
The company has completed all preparatory fieldwork, including geophysics, geological mapping, trenching and drill pad construction.
Addison Mining Services has been engaged as independent Competent Person to develop a maiden JORC Mineral Resource Estimate at Defender. And, Lewis Harvey, Addison's Director Exploration Services & Principal Geologist, will be on site throughout the programme overseeing data capture and quality control.
Assay results are expected through September and October, alongside outcomes from the bulk sample metallurgical work carried out in the second quarter.
"The appointment of Addison as Competent Person is a significant step for the programme," said CEO Ed Loye, adding that embedding quality control from day one "is a more rigorous approach that we expect will result in a smoother, faster path to resource definition."
Great Western added that it remains focused on tungsten as a critical mineral, alongside its Huntoon Copper Project, which hosts a JORC-compliant resource of 4.3 million tonnes at 0.45% copper. The company said it remains fully funded for its 2026 exploration programme, with a maiden resource estimate for Defender targeted for the fourth quarter.
News Intelligence what this means for the company
Great Western has cleared all preparatory work and is drilling at Defender within two weeks, with an independent Competent Person (Addison Mining Services) embedded to oversee quality control from day one. This accelerates the path to a maiden JORC resource estimate in Q4 2026. The company remains fully funded for 2026 exploration, and assay results are due through September–October alongside metallurgical bulk sample results from flotation test work, creating a near-term catalyst window for resource definition.
Defender moves from exploration to resource definition on a funded timeline. Success here—a maiden JORC resource in Q4—would validate tungsten as a core strategic asset and potentially unlock partnership or development optionality, though tungsten market dynamics and metallurgical recovery remain execution risks.
Insights assembled by AI. Editor-reviewed and grounded in tickstock’s coverage and proprietary knowledge graph.
Content is for informational purposes only, not financial advice.
