Cash Tight but Costs Slashed: West Cobar Metals Faces Funding Test Amid Expansion

Salazar Project Resource Growth

West Cobar Metals Limited (ASX: WC1) has delivered a robust quarterly update highlighting a substantial 46% increase in rare earth element (REE) mineral resources at its Newmont deposit within the Salazar Critical Minerals Project in Western Australia. The updated JORC 2012-compliant resource now stands at 123 million tonnes at 1145 ppm total rare earth oxides (TREO), including an indicated resource of 44 million tonnes at 1229 ppm TREO. This expansion is complemented by significant increases in titanium dioxide and scandium resources, underscoring the project's growing strategic importance in critical minerals supply chains.

Alongside these gains, the company revealed promising alumina mineralisation with a 4 million tonne resource at 29.7% Al2O3, potentially upgradeable to high purity alumina (HPA), a material increasingly sought after in advanced technologies.

Encouraging Metallurgical Progress at Bulla Park

In New South Wales, West Cobar's Bulla Park copper-antimony project has yielded highly encouraging initial flotation test results. The metallurgical work produced a high-grade copper-antimony-silver concentrate from representative drill core samples, validating the potential for a viable extraction flowsheet. Further testwork is underway to optimise concentrate grades and recoveries, with investigations into leaching options aiming to produce separate saleable concentrates.

Exploration efforts continue with reinterpretation of geophysical data identifying new high-priority targets for higher-grade copper and antimony mineralisation. A planned drilling program will test these targets, including deep chargeability anomalies that may represent mineralised feeder pipes, potentially unlocking additional tonnage and grade upside.

Advancing Copper-Gold Targets in Fraser Range

West Cobar is also progressing exploration in the Fraser Range, Western Australia, where project generation studies have defined high-priority Iron Oxide Copper-Gold (IOCG) and Broken Hill Type (BHT) targets. Heritage surveys are underway ahead of a reverse circulation drilling campaign, supported by a government Exploration Incentive Scheme grant of up to $156,000, aimed at testing these prospective targets beneath thin transported cover.

Corporate Discipline and Funding Position

Facing the capital-intensive nature of exploration, West Cobar has aggressively reduced corporate and overhead costs to conserve cash. Directors, including the managing director, have taken a majority of their fees in shares, reflecting commitment to the company's long-term prospects. The company ended the quarter with $0.7 million in cash and no debt, bolstered by a $438,000 R&D tax incentive rebate related to Salazar project expenditures.

Capital raising efforts during the quarter included an entitlement offer and a placement, raising approximately $324,000 before costs. These measures, combined with cost discipline, provide an estimated funding runway of over 14 quarters, though this figure is materially supported by the recent tax rebate.

Outlook and Strategic Focus

West Cobar Metals is actively evaluating new gold and copper opportunities in Australia, signaling a strategic intent to diversify and expand its project portfolio. The company’s near-term focus will be on advancing metallurgical testwork at Bulla Park, executing the planned drilling programs in NSW and WA, and continuing to refine resource estimates at Salazar.

While the company’s cash position remains tight, the combination of resource growth, promising exploration results, and disciplined cost management positions West Cobar Metals as a compelling player in the critical minerals sector, particularly as global demand for REEs, antimony, and copper intensifies.