Alien Metals, the AIM-listed minerals exploration and development company, said its joint venture partner in the Elizabeth Hill Silver Project, West Coast Silver (ASX: WCE), has received final assay results from diamond drilling at the site.
Alien holds a 30% interest in Elizabeth Hill, free-carried until West Coast Silver announces a decision to mine, and separately owns 30.5 million shares in West Coast Silver, an approximate 8.7% stake.
The standout intercept from hole 26WCDD037 returned 38.3 metres at 878 g/t silver from just 3.7 metres downhole, including 22.3 metres at 1,495 g/t and a narrower interval of 0.5 metres at 64,745 g/t.
Two further holes, 26WCDD038 and 26WCDD039, confirmed broader lower-grade zones near surface, with 63 metres at 53 g/t silver from 2 metres downhole in the former.
Drilling in a new west-to-east orientation, departing from the historic east-to-west pattern, extended mineralisation beyond the current mineral resource estimate and into granite to the west, while also confirming high grades within and below the existing resource.
"Final diamond drilling results from the H1 2026 program have exceeded expectations, extending mineralisation beyond the current MRE and identifying exceptional high grades both within and outside the existing resource envelope," said West Coast Silver chief executive Sergei Smolonogov.
The results will feed into an updated JORC 2012 mineral resource estimate, the third since the April estimate of 2.8 million ounces, scheduled for the fourth quarter.
Further west-to-east diamond drilling is planned for the second half of the year to test whether inferred resources can be upgraded to indicated status.
