Alien Metals (AIM:UFO), the AIM-listed minerals exploration and development company, said its joint venture partner West Coast Silver has begun an induced polarisation (IP) and controlled-source audio-frequency magnetotelluric (CSAMT) geophysical survey across roughly 4km of the Munni Munni Fault Zone at the Elizabeth Hill Silver Project in Western Australia's Pilbara region.
The survey is hunting for repeats of the Elizabeth Hill system itself, which historically produced 1.2 million ounces of silver at a head grade of 2,194 g/t before mining ceased in 2000 amid low silver prices.
Surveying has already started at Elizabeth Hill South, an underexplored area where historic drilling returned 2 million at 1,550 g/t silver from 108 million depth and 1 million at 250 g/t silver from 118 million, intersections West Coast Silver says point to further potential beyond the main deposit.
Alien holds a 30% free-carried interest in Elizabeth Hill through to a decision to mine, alongside a separate 7% equity stake in West Coast Silver itself, a structure that lets Alien ride exploration upside across the project without funding it directly.
The geophysics follows an inaugural JORC resource estimate in April of 141,000 tonnes at 617 g/t silver, equivalent to 2.8 million ounces, and precedes a planned fourth-quarter resource update that West Coast Silver has said will draw on a run of assay results from 2026 drilling, including a diamond hole intersection of 524 g/t silver and near-surface extensions beneath and south of the historical workings.
Previous IP testing over the Elizabeth Hill mine identified a chargeability response coincident with the existing mineralised envelope, giving the company a technical basis for applying the same method regionally along the fault structure.
Half the cost of the current programme is being met by a A$114,312 grant under the Western Australian government's Exploration Incentive Scheme.
"This is an exciting phase of regional exploration at Elizabeth Hill," said Sergei Smolonogov, chief executive of West Coast Silver, adding that the objective is "to generate and prioritise compelling drill targets for follow-up in H1 2027."
Vince Fayad, executive director of Alien Metals, said the programme was testing "whether Elizabeth Hill is one of a number of high-grade silver systems along the Munni Munni Fault Zone," noting that the Elizabeth Hill South surveying had started where Alien's own 2022 drilling returned 2 million at 1,550 g/t silver.
The four-week survey will be followed by data processing and modelling to prioritise drill targets, feeding into West Coast Silver's broader plan for an updated resource estimate in November, a further mineral resource estimate in March 2027 and a scoping study pathway in the first quarter of 2027.
Alien's stake sits alongside its other partner-funded Pilbara projects, including the Munni Munni nickel-copper-PGE joint venture with GreenTech Metals, where Alien similarly retains a 30% free-carried interest through to a bankable feasibility study.