Alien Metals (AIM:UFO) Limited (AIM: UFO) said a new diamond drilling programme at the Elizabeth Hill silver project in the Pilbara is now underway, delivering a near-term exploration catalyst for the 30% JV interest it holds.
The drill campaign, announced by West Coast Silver Limited (ASX: WCE), is an up-to-1,500m, six-hole diamond programme designed to probe down-plunge and along strike beneath the historical Elizabeth Hill underground mine and to test structural targets on the Munni Munni Fault. All holes are planned to intersect the fault within about 200m of surface.
Drilling is expected to take approximately four to six weeks, with assays returned progressively through Q2 2026, the company said.
West Coast Silver framed the work as the first systematic test of its structural model that proposes repeated high-grade silver shoots along the Munni Munni Fault — a "Pearls on a String" concept that, if validated, could substantially expand the footprint beyond the historical mine. The programme will follow up moderate to high-grade intersections from past surface and underground drilling and will step out to target areas south along the fault.
"Our previous 2025 drilling confirmed that silver mineralisation at Elizabeth Hill extends beyond the historical underground mine and associated with a broader structural corridor along the Munni Munni Fault. This current program of diamond drilling below Elizabeth Hill is designed to determine whether there are high-grade silver extensions below and south of the mine. The drilling will also test whether high-grade mineralisation repeats at depth; a model that, if confirmed, could materially expand the resource potential." Executive Chairman Bruce Garlick said.
West Coast Silver also flagged concurrent exploration through to end-May 2026 — reverse circulation drilling, borehole and surface geophysics — and said it will dynamically reposition planned holes in response to geological, geophysical and assay results as they arrive.
For Alien Metals, the programme represents an immediate, operator-led test on an asset where it retains a carried exposure through the JV, the announcement noted.
