As the mining and resources industry winds down for the year and the festive season settles in, Mining.com.au is unwrapping a 12-day macro series, exploring the forces shaping the sector.
Much like the classic carol, each day builds on the last. On the first day we’re diving into one gift that set the tone of the year for critical minerals explorer Iltani Resources (ASX:ILT).
Since June 2023, the company has focused exploration efforts at the Orient deposit near Herberton in Far North Queensland, uncovering its prospectivity to produce silver, lead, zinc, and indium.
Earlier this year, Iltani’s efforts paid off when the company flagged the asset to potentially be one of the “highest-grade known silver-indium” deposits, emerging as one of 2025’s brightest lights in critical minerals exploration, as reported by Mining.com.au.
The project comprises two main areas of focus – Orient East and Orient West – within the greater Herberton Project, which spans around 367km2 in the Herberton Mineral Field.
Discovery worth unwrapping
The combined deposits have returned a maiden resource estimate of 62.5 million tonnes @ 81.5 grams per tonne silver-equivalent at a 30g/t cut-off grade, with a higher grade core of 34.2 million tonnes @ 110.4g/t silver-equivalent with a 60g/t cut-off grade – the kind worth placing under any explorer’s Christmas tree.
Orient East hosts a resource of 19.8 million tonnes @ 98g/t silver-equivalent, with a higher grade core of 12.6 million tonnes @ 128g/t silver-equivalent, as reported.
On the return of recent versatile time domain electromagnetic (VTEM) target drilling at the project, Iltani says Orient has demonstrated potential to materially increase the mineral resource.
Mining.com.au reports across a 10-hole shallow campaign, the first hole (ORR128) delivered multiple intersections of “thick” silver-lead-zinc-indium mineralisation, 450m north of the Orient East resource zone.
Mineralisation remains open along strike and down-dip, which is believed to upgrade the resource substantially.
Iltani has received its final assay results from VTEM drilling, such as 20m @ 93.8 grams per tonne silver-equivalent (AgEq) from 4m, including 6m @ 132g/t AgEq from 18m; 3m @ 130.9g/t AgEq from 170m, including 1m @ 279.3g/t AgEq from 171m.
The company is now conducting a surface electromagnetic (EM) survey at the Orient to target deeper anomalies generated by VTEM drilling, as reported.
Prices ringing bright
Speaking to Mining.com.au on the sidelines of the Noosa Mining Investor Conference, Iltani Managing Director Donald Garner says the main revenue drivers for the project are silver, then followed by zinc, lead, and indium in that order.
“As long as gold sees high, silver will see high,” Garner tells this news service.
As the festive season approaches, silver has been enjoying its own holiday cheer, marked at US$49.99 per ounce as of 24 November 2025, indicating a 73.12% for the commodity’s value from this year to date according to Trading Economics.
Zinc on the other hand is priced at US$3,010, almost at a 1% increase for this year-to-date.
“Zinc recently almost touched a dollar fifty a pound, which is really good to see. The Zinc TCs treatment charges are low, which is also good,” Garner adds.
“If we are successful with the permitting and development process, we’ll be in production in three or four years’ time.”
At the same conference, Garner describes sentiment to be high ahead of the year’s end for miners across different commodities.
“There’s a resurgence in commodity prices, gold sales in particular, but the base metals are doing well and you’ve got this increasing interest in critical minerals,” Garner mentions.
“With the support of the QIC and the Queensland government, Queensland is open for business.
“They want to see mining in the state. They want to see value created in the state, jobs, revenues – it’s a really good time to be working in Queensland.”
Iltani is receiving an $8 million investment from the Queensland Investment Corporation’s (QIC) Critical Minerals and Battery Technology Fund (QCMBTF) to further develop the Orient Project.
The total grant comprises $6 million in cash in exchange for a 2% royalty on future product sales from the greater Herberton Project if commercial production begins by the end of 2030, otherwise boosting to 2.5%, as well as $2 million cash for the issue of 5.41 million shares.
Shares will be issued at $0.37 each, indicating a 10% discount to the 20-day volume weighted average price prior to the agreement.
“Now with the funding from the QIC, we’ll build on what we’ve got and do more,” Garner adds.
The QIC is a state government-owned corporation that manages the QCMBTF to bolster businesses focused on supporting Queensland’s critical minerals supply chain, holding $131.6 billion worth of assets under management as of 30 June 2025.
Looking beyond the Christmas lights
Garner explains that while the Iltani’s main priority is exploring the Orient Project, the company is always looking for opportunities to “create value for shareholders”.
“If we don’t look, we won’t find and you’ll never know when we’ll come across one of those,” Garner says.
“We’re growing the team at Orient to make sure we deliver the best possible project for our shareholders and for Queensland.”
The company will focus on drill targets inside the Caldera Complex including the Boonmoo gold and Union Jack base metal targets, before mapping the Orient and Antimony Reward projects.
“Once we understand the controls of the mineralisation, we might go back to Antimony Reward but our main focus is at Orient,” Garner tells Mining.com.au.
The Antimony Reward deposit sits roughly 17km from Orient, also within the Herberton Project in Queensland.
Iltani completed initial drilling at the asset in 2024, with assays returning 7m @ 7.61% antimony from 38m, including 3m @ 8.19% from 38m and 1m @ 26.70% from 43m in hole ARRC001.
Hole ARRC003 intersected 3m @ 0.75% antimony from 31m, including 1m @ 1.25% from 32m; and 4m @ 0.43%, including 1m @ 1.28% from 42m, while hole ARRC004 intersected 9m @ 0.94% from 53m, including 2m @ 2.66% from 60m.
Iltani Resources is a mineral explorer focused on the discovery and development of critical minerals for a clean energy future.
As day one of Mining.com.au’s 12 days of Christmas series comes to a close, Iltani’s discovery highs in 2025 sets the tone for the next year and the next door on our advent calendar.
Write to Maddison Elliott at Mining.com.au
Images: Mining.com.au & Iltani
