Western Star Resources (CSE:WSR) has outlined a 17-hole drilling program totalling approximately 1,850m at its Eagle Point Tungsten Project in Hidalgo County, New Mexico, US, following geological mapping and sampling.
The August field program identified scheelite-bearing skarn along the contact between Horquilla Limestone and intrusive granite, helping define targets beneath surface exposures.
Western Star collected 23 samples from the principal skarn target, including grab samples and four 1m channel intervals. Analytical results remain pending.
Mapping shows the exposed skarn dips locally at approximately 80°, while loose rock cover obscures parts of the contact and limits understanding of its subsurface geometry.
President and CEO Blake Morgan says the work has established the project’s next exploration step.
“We have moved from a project defined largely by historical work and surface showings to a modern three-dimensional geological model and a planned 17-hole drill program,” Morgan says.
“The work identified scheelite-bearing skarn along the granite-limestone contact and identified areas where drilling can directly test the system beneath limited surface exposure.”
The proposed holes are primarily shallow, closely spaced tests designed to assess continuity, true thickness, and the relationship between skarn and intrusive rocks.
Historical maps, magnetic information, and new structural observations have been incorporated into the updated model to guide targeting.
Assays to refine drill targets
Shortwave ultraviolet screening confirmed fluorescent scheelite in collected material, but these observations do not establish tungsten grades.
Western Star will combine laboratory results with the geological model to refine targets and finalise drilling logistics and applicable permitting requirements.
The company says drilling could generate data to support a maiden mineral resource estimate. No resource has been established, and further exploration may not delineate one.
The Eagle Point work follows Western Star’s identification of two tungsten-in-soil anomalies at its Rowland Tungsten Property in Nevada. That 315-sample survey outlined the Rowland Main and Northern Zone B anomalies, with results being integrated into drill targeting.
Western Star Resources is a mineral explorer advancing tungsten assets in Nevada and New Mexico, US, alongside its Western Star Property in British Columbia, Canada.
Write to France Pinzon at Mining.com.au
Main image: Western Star Resources
