Diablo Resources has exercised its option over 101 patented claims covering the historic Horn Silver Mine in Utah, bringing its broader 202-claim, 13.2 square kilometre project package together. The company will now rank targets, advance permitting and prepare for a maiden Horn Silver drilling program in 2026.
- 101 patented claims added to Diablo’s existing 101 unpatented claims
- Historic Horn Silver Mine credited with 17 Moz of silver production
- High-priority targets include mine extensions, Gossan, Buckhorn and Imperial
- Mapping, sampling and target definition to precede maiden 2026 drilling
- North Star maiden drilling continues at nearby Star Range
Horn Silver Tenure Consolidated
Diablo Resources Limited (ASX:DBO) has formally exercised the exclusive option over 101 patented claims at its 80%-owned Horn Silver Project in Beaver County, Utah. The move brings the patented ground, including the historic Horn Silver Mine, together with Diablo’s existing 101 unpatented claims in a consolidated 13.2 square kilometre exploration package.
The historic mine is credited with approximately 17 million ounces of silver production at 604 grams per tonne, alongside 30,000 ounces of gold. Those figures describe past production, not a current mineral resource or reserve, but they give the project an unusually substantial historical starting point for a junior explorer.
Multiple Targets Await Ranking
Diablo says the enlarged tenure supports a coordinated exploration program across near-mine and regional targets. Priority areas include interpreted extensions beneath and beside the old mine, the untested Gossan induced-polarisation anomaly, shallow gold-silver mineralisation at Horn South, and the Buckhorn and Imperial prospects.
Recent reconnaissance sampling across the unpatented claims returned high-grade silver, gold, copper, lead and zinc mineralisation at several prospects, including Buckhorn, Washington, Accrington and Michigan. The company interprets those results, alongside historical geology and geophysical data, as evidence of a district-scale polymetallic system. The sampling remains early-stage exploration evidence, and several targets are untested or incompletely tested.
Exploration Program Moves Towards Drilling
The immediate work program is deliberately front-loaded with field and technical work: regional mapping, additional sampling, structural interpretation and a reinterpretation of historical geophysical, geochemical and geological datasets. Diablo plans to use that process to define and prioritise drill targets, with particular attention to high-grade structural corridors and the Gossan anomaly.
The company also plans permitting, contractor engagement and logistical mobilisation ahead of a maiden Horn Silver drilling program in 2026. At the nearby Star Range Project, approximately 15 kilometres away, maiden drilling at North Star is already underway, giving Diablo two active exploration tracks in its Utah portfolio.
Historical Scale Meets Execution Risk
Diablo’s Utah portfolio targets silver, copper, antimony, lead and zinc, commodities identified by the United States as critical minerals. The company says recent US policy measures around domestic critical-mineral and defence supply chains provide strategic context for its exploration focus, but those themes do not change the project’s near-term test: whether systematic work can convert historical production, surface samples and geophysical anomalies into drill-supported mineralisation.
The announcement does not disclose the financial consideration attached to exercising the option. For shareholders, the next material markers are likely to be the final target ranking, permitting progress, drill mobilisation and results from the first Horn Silver holes, alongside continued updates from North Star.
Bottom Line?
Diablo now controls a unified Horn Silver exploration package, but the investment case still depends on whether its target pipeline survives the transition from historical evidence and surface anomalies to drilling.
Questions in the middle?
- What financial consideration and final terms were attached to exercising the patented-claims option?
- Which Horn Silver targets will receive priority in the maiden 2026 drill program?
- Will drilling at Horn Silver and North Star produce results strong enough to support a future mineral resource estimate?