Western Star Resources Inc. has released the results of a district-scale three-dimensional geophysical inversion across its Rowland and White Star tungsten properties in Elko County, Nevada. The modelling has defined buried and partially exposed intrusive bodies and refined the fault network interpreted to channel mineralising fluids into the tungsten skarn system. Importantly, the company’s highest-grade rock chips—4.02% WO3 at Rowland and 3.00% WO3 at White Star—both correspond spatially with the contact between these modelled intrusive rocks and the carbonate host. The modelled intrusive framework extends well beyond the limits of mapped outcrop, opening substantial new search space across both properties.
Blake Morgan, CEO and President of Western Star, stated, “This is the result we were hoping for. The inversion has modelled intrusive bodies spatially associated with areas where we sampled high grade tungsten values, and it has mapped the faults that we believe carried the fluid there. That is the tungsten skarn recipe, and we can now see it in three dimensions across the whole district. Better still, the modelled intrusives are more extensive than has been previously mapped, which means the ground that has produced our best rock chips continues into untested areas.”
The tungsten skarn model requires three elements: an intrusion to drive the system, reactive carbonate rock to host replacement, and structures to focus fluid flow. The inversion, completed by Warren Hughes, P.Geo., of East Coast Consulting, used a UAV magnetic survey across approximately 3,000 acres. Approximately 25 kilometres of structure have been interpreted in two dominant orientations, north-east–south-west and north-west–south-east, representing the first structural framework mapped at property scale in this district. These structures are interpreted as the fluid conduits that fed the skarn.
The modelled magnetic domains correspond closely with the units mapped by Coats (1964) in U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1141-M, adding depth and continuity. The inversion also resolves geology beneath extensive Quaternary cover on the eastern flank, providing an exploration vector into ground that cannot be mapped at surface. Soil geochemistry from the Phase 2 programme is expected shortly and will be integrated with the inversion model to define and rank drill targets.
In addition to the geophysical results, Western Star announced it has satisfied the first performance milestone under the option agreement for the Rowland tungsten project. Milestone One required the company to increase the claim area by at least 30% and identify at least three rock-chip samples grading above 2.0% WO3. Both conditions were met well beyond thresholds: the claim package was expanded by approximately 165% to 221 hectares, and four samples graded above 2.0% WO3, including 4.02% and 2.69%. The company will issue 500,000 common shares to the vendors.
The scientific and technical information has been reviewed and approved by Jasper Mowatt, MIMMM, MAusIMM, a consultant to the company and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. The company cautions that magnetic susceptibility is a physical rock property and not a direct measurement of mineralisation; interpretations require confirmation by drilling.
Western Star Resources is a mineral exploration company focused on tungsten and critical minerals in the United States, advancing past-producing tungsten assets in Nevada and New Mexico. For additional information, visit www.westernstarresources.com.
