Western Star Resources Inc. (CSE: WSR) (OTC: WSRIF) (FRA: 4K2) reported results from its Phase 1 soil-geochemistry program at the past-producing Rowland Tungsten Property in Elko County, Nevada. The program confirmed a coherent, multi-element tungsten-skarn signature in soil over an approximately one-kilometre structural corridor, highlighted by a peak of 1,425 parts per million (ppm) tungsten trioxide (WO3) in soil, equivalent to 0.14% WO3, directly over a recently re-discovered zone of historical workings.
The Phase 1 soil grid comprised 93 samples at nominal 25-meter spacing over the central Rowland workings corridor. The results revealed that tungsten is strongly anomalous against baseline background values, which were determined to be approximately 2 ppm WO3. Multiple samples exceeded 10 ppm, five were above 50 ppm, and three surpassed 100 ppm W. The anomalous samples are interpreted to reflect a tungsten-skarn system developed along a carbonate–intrusive contact with potentially mineralized NE-SW structures. The peak value was found in the central zone, while a second strong cluster of up to 517 ppm WO3 overlies the Rowland Main workings to the south. Copper, molybdenum, bismuth, and beryllium were elevated in the same samples, confirming a coherent polymetallic skarn signature.
The soils coincide with interpreted skarn contacts identified by the Company's UAV magnetic survey. The strongest soil anomalies sit on magnetic gradients, which represent lithological and structural contacts. This alignment validates the targeting model and provides a strong vector for future exploration. The Company is mobilizing an expanded soil-sampling program to commence shortly, designed to trace the prospective skarn contacts outward from known workings and potential mineralisation-controlling faults.
Blake Morgan, President and CEO of Western Star, commented: "As far as we are aware, this is the first ever soil geochemistry survey completed by a public company at Rowland, and returning a high value result of 0.14% WO3 is an excellent start. The anomalous soil results provide a baseline to interpret the expanded soil results once they arrive. Crucially, the soils line up with the contacts our UAV magnetics are mapping, which is the strongest possible vector for where to look next."
The Rowland property is interpreted as a reduced tungsten (W-Cu-Mo-Bi) skarn, where tungsten-bearing fluids from a Cretaceous granite reacted with Ordovician–Cambrian limestone to deposit scheelite-bearing skarn. The Phase 1 soils sit directly on this carbonate host, and the strongest anomalies fall on magnetic gradients. The coincidence of high-grade polymetallic soils with these interpreted contacts over a one-kilometre area is a powerful exploration vector. Two large target areas have emerged and will be systematically explored, along with property-wide exploratory sampling.
Results from the expanded program will be integrated with the UAV magnetic survey and field mapping to generate and prioritise drill targets for a maiden drill program at Rowland. The Company has high confidence that soil geochemistry reliably highlights the prospective skarn-contact zones and can be used aggressively to extend known zones and search for new ones.
