Great Western Mining (GWMO ) has completed initial exploration work programmes across the three kilometre corridor between the Defender-Pine Crow tungsten project and the company’s existing M2 copper resource in Nevada.
These programmes were designed to support the planned July 2026 drilling campaign and to assess the broader extent of tungsten mineralisation on the Black Mountain claim area.
Among the work completed was a gravity geophysical survey completed by Zonge International, covering approximately a three kilometre by 500 metre area.
Geological mapping of skarn occurrences was also completed, and new grab samples submitted for assay, identifying additional prospective zones and structural controls.
Drill pad locations have now been selected for upcoming drilling.
Furthermore, four new machine-cut trenches have already completed, with all samples submitted for assay. Three of these trenches are located between Defender and Pine Crow mine. The other one was completed at the historic workings known as the Widowmaker mine, located two kilometres west of Defender along strike and midway between Pine Crow and the M2 copper resource.
The plan is to deliver an initial maiden resource estimate for the Defender-Pine Crow tungsten project by the end of the fourth quarter of this year. The current work programme is designed both to support the planned drilling campaign commencing in July 2026 and to further assess the scale, continuity and geometry of tungsten mineralisation within the broader Black Mountain claim area.
“The completion of these programmes marks another important step in accelerating the Defender-Pine Crow tungsten project towards drilling and resource definition,” said Great Western’s chief executive Ed Loye.
“In particular, the scale of the geophysical and geological work completed across the broader mineralised corridor is helping us better understand the continuity and district-scale potential of the tungsten system. The addition of trenching at the historic workings known as the Widowmaker Mine is especially encouraging as it extends exploration activity further west along strike towards M2, supporting our view that this is part of a much larger mineralised trend. With drilling scheduled to commence in July, we now look forward to the next phase of work and to receiving the assay and metallurgical results in due course.”
View from Vox
Great to see the preparations for drilling proceeding, with drilling itself now expected within a matter of weeks. The opportunity on offer here for Great Western and its investors is significant – a sizeable tungsten project nestled comfortably inside the US, in the most mining-friendly state in the country. With the tungsten price riding high at unprecedented levels, there’s no better time to be drilling. The results, when they come, will be very interesting indeed.