West Coast Silver drills into visible riches at Elizabeth Hill

• First five drill holes successfully intersect up-plunge target position at Elizabeth Hill
• Drilling struck “native” silver in two drill holes, confirmed through pXRF analysis
• 1300-metre diamond drilling program expected to wrap up by mid-November

Special Report: The first five diamond holes drilled at the Elizabeth Hill silver deposit in Western Australia have struck silver in at least four holes, confirmed using a portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) scanner.

West Coast Silver (ASX:WCE) also identified native silver – a pure, exceptionally high-grade occurrence of the mineral – in two of the drill cores.

The company says the silver in hole 25WCDD014 is “visually significant”, occurring within three separate intervals throughout the drill core.

The mineralised zone appears to be mostly quartz-carbonate veining and/or stockwork, host to native silver mineralisation as well as related silver minerals and base metals.

West Coast Silver executive chair Bruce Garlick said the company was extremely pleased with the results, describing them as an “exceptional start”.

“To intersect Native silver in two drill holes and silver-bearing minerals in another two holes close to surface is a tremendous result and validates our belief in the near-surface potential at Elizabeth Hill,” he said.

Elizabeth Hill silver deposit

Elizabeth Hill was historically one of Australia’s highest-grade silver deposits, having produced 1.2Moz of silver from just 16,830 tonnes of ore at a head grade of 2,194g/t silver.

Mining ceased in 2000 due to falling silver prices, but a recent revival in silver’s price has highlighted untapped potential within the deposit.

Of the five holes drilled so far at the up-plunge target at the Elizabeth Hill deposit, WCE has highlighted silver mineralisation in four drill cores.

While visual and pXRF examinations can offer valuable insights, they’re not a substitute for laboratory analysis.

Nonetheless, drill hole 25WCDD014 contained three intervals of native silver mineralisation identified by geological logging and confirmed by pXRF analysis.

West Coast has estimated the silver percentage within the core as follows:

• 53.57m to 54.07m – 1% to 2% observed native silver;
• 66.24m to 66.42m – 1% observed native silver; and
• 74.52m to 74.95m – 1% observed native silver.

Native silver in cut drill core 25WCDD014, interval from 53.45m to 54.18m. Pic: WCE

West Coast Silver expects the 1300-metre diamond drilling program to continue until about mid-November, with official assays to follow.

This article was developed in collaboration with West Coast Silver, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing. 

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.