Pilot Mountain drill results confirm zones of high-grade tungsten

Critical minerals explorer Guardian Metal Resources (LON: GMET) has released further assay results from the ongoing drilling campaign at its 100%-owned Pilot Mountain tungsten project in Nevada.

The assays, comprising the final batch of drill holes at the Desert Scheelite zone, confirmed further high-grade tungsten mineralization over significant widths, the company said.

Tungsten is a critical mineral for a key defense application — penetrators — which are high-density, armour-piercing projectiles. It’s also required in US Department of Defence (DoD) contracts.

Tungsten production in the US ceased in 2015, when it was no longer commercially viable due to low prices and competition from China.

China dominates global tungsten production, accounting for over 80% of last year’s total output of 81,000 tons, according to the USGS.

Recently, the DoD awarded $6.2 million to support the Pilot Mountain project located southeast of Hawthorne, making Guardian the only company with US-based tungsten assets to receive funding. The company is also advancing another tungsten project in the state: Tempiute. 

At the Pilot Mountain project, a total of 82 drill holes have completed to date, with 61 at Desert Scheelite. 20 at the Garnet zone and a single hole at Porphyry South.

Of significance within the new set of results is the mineralized widths (>0.10% WO₃) encountered throughout several holes, as well as the intersection of multiple broad mineralized intervals, the company said.

These include a 21.6-metre interval in PM25-043, a 33.9-metre interval in PM25-045, a 45.7-metre interval in PM25-047 and a 24.4-metre interval in PM25-051, plus multiple others throughout the holes reported. 

“We are very pleased to now have all of the results in hand from the Desert Scheelite resource drilling, marking another important step toward our goal of delivering Mined in America tungsten to the United States market,” Guardian Metal CEO Oliver Friesen said in a news release.

“This latest batch of assays has confirmed zones of high-grade tungsten, copper, silver and zinc, with numerous holes returning significant widths of tungsten mineralization,” Friesen said. 

“We now eagerly await initial results from our inaugural Garnet zone drilling and look forward to commencing drilling at Tempiute in the coming weeks, with multiple rigs soon to be mobilized across our Nevada based co-flagship tungsten projects.”