Key Highlights

  • Western Ridge reported 41.15 metres at 30.83 g/t silver from 41.15 metres in its first Keystone drill holes.
  • Multiple stacked silver-bearing lodes have been identified beneath the historic Keystone Mine.
  • Anomalous tungsten includes 1.52 metres at 0.143 percent WO3 from 57.91 metres.
  • Preliminary assays for seven of nine completed holes remain pending, and further drilling is planned for 2027.

Western Ridge Resources Limited (ASX:WRX) has reported preliminary assay results from its inaugural drilling campaign at the Keystone Project in Northwestern Nevada, according to an announcement dated 12 November 2026. The results cover two of the nine holes drilled at Keystone in September, with assays received from the ALS laboratory in Reno. The company says the early results support its geological model of repeated horizontal lodes beneath the historic mine, along with a broader peripheral mineralised system than previously recognised.

Silver intercepts and the halo model

Hole 26KSTRC003 and 26KSTRC004 returned broad zones of shallow silver mineralisation. The results include 41.15 metres at 30.83 g/t silver from 41.15 metres and 44.2 metres at 26.81 g/t silver from 30.48 metres. Within these intervals, higher-grade sub-intervals returned 1.52 metres at 273 g/t and 1.52 metres at 200 g/t silver.

The company also identified a broader peripheral envelope surrounding the higher-grade lodes, which it describes as a halo. Silver extends into the surrounding sedimentary rocks, suggesting that the mineralised system covers more ground than the historic workings alone would indicate. The company says the system remains open at depth and along strike.

Geological model and historical context

The company states that the results are consistent with sub-horizontal lodes similar to those mined between 1937 and 1943, when about 36,000 ounces of silver were recovered from roughly 1,500 tonnes of material taken from a single stope. Assays from the new holes show at least five further lodes of a similar nature beneath the known workings. The company describes the program as the first drilling at the historic mine in more than 80 years.

The halo concept matters because it changes the target area. If the mineralisation extends into surrounding rock, the potential Volume of the system is larger than lode-only models would suggest. That interpretation, however, rests on two holes with preliminary assays, and the company has not yet defined the continuity of the halo between holes.

Tungsten potential and remaining assays

Anomalous tungsten was also intersected, including 1.52 metres at 0.143 percent WO3 from 57.91 metres. The company notes that Keystone's proximity and geological similarities to the Springer tungsten mine provide an additional exploration opportunity. Tungsten is a critical mineral, but the result is a single narrow interval, and the company has not indicated how much of the project it would test for tungsten.

Assays for seven further holes are pending, and the company plans further drilling at Keystone in 2027. All intersections are downhole, and the true widths of the lodes and halo have not been reported. No mineral resource has been declared, and the company has not provided grade-tonnage estimates for the silver or tungsten zones.

Final Word

Western Ridge's first drilling at Keystone has produced broad silver intercepts and an early indication that the system may be larger than the historic workings suggested. The remaining seven assays, the testing of the halo model and the scale of the tungsten anomaly will determine whether the project can progress to resource definition. For now, the results are preliminary and drawn from a small number of holes.