Western Star Resources Inc. (CSE: WSR) (OTC: WSRIF) (FRA: 4K2) has reported results from its Phase 1 soil-geochemistry program at the past-producing Rowland Tungsten Property in Elko County, Nevada. The program returned a peak value of 1,425 parts per million (ppm) tungsten trioxide (WO3) in soil, equivalent to 0.14% WO3, over a recently re-discovered zone of historical workings. The results confirm a coherent, multi-element tungsten-skarn signature in soil over an approximately one-kilometre structural corridor, validating the Company's exploration model and leading to an immediate mobilization for an expanded soil program.
The Phase 1 soil grid comprised 93 soil samples at nominal 25-meter spacing over the central Rowland workings corridor. Anomalous soil results were returned over both the historical workings and the Rowland Main zone, with soils over the main historical workings returning up to 517 ppm and 504 ppm WO3. The strongest soil anomalies coincide with magnetic gradients imaged by the Company's UAV magnetic survey, interpreted as lithological and structural contacts. This coincidence provides a powerful vector for targeting prospective skarn-contact zones.
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."
Multiple critical metals accompany the tungsten anomalies, including copper (up to 1,185 ppm), molybdenum (up to 35 ppm), bismuth (up to 5.2 ppm), and beryllium (up to 4.56 ppm), confirming a coherent polymetallic skarn signature. The Company notes that tungsten is strongly and discretely anomalous against the baseline background values (approximately 2 ppm WO3), with multiple samples exceeding 10 ppm, five above 50 ppm, and three above 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.
Rowland is interpreted as a reduced tungsten (W-Cu-Mo-Bi) skarn, where tungsten-bearing fluids exsolved 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, enhancing the understanding of skarn contacts. This validation of the soil geochemistry as an effective, low-cost vector to prospective skarn-contact zones has prompted the Company to immediately expand the soil campaign.
Western Star is mobilizing an expanded soil-sampling program designed to trace the prospective skarn contacts outward from the known workings and potential mineralisation-controlling faults. Results from this expanded program will be integrated with the UAV magnetic survey and field mapping to generate and prioritize 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 discoveries.
For investors and industry observers, these results underscore the potential of the Rowland property as a district-scale tungsten opportunity. With the growing need for secure domestic critical mineral supply, particularly for tungsten, which is essential in defense, aerospace, and industrial applications, the advancement of such projects is strategically important. The systematic exploration approach, combining soil geochemistry with geophysical surveys, demonstrates a methodical path toward defining drill targets, potentially de-risking the project for future development.
