Lightning Minerals has started a 262-sample Phase 3 soil program at its Warby Tungsten Project in North Queensland, with the first 162 samples already at the laboratory. Results expected in October will help determine whether open tungsten anomalies are ready to support maiden drilling.
- 162 soil samples sent to ALS Laboratory in Townsville
- A further 100 samples are being collected
- Open tungsten anomalies tested to the north-east, south-west, north and west
- Seven vein and wall-rock samples sent to UNSW for specialist studies
- Phase 3 results intended to rank maiden drill targets
Warby Sampling Moves From Reconnaissance Towards Drilling
Lightning Minerals Limited (ASX:L1M) is tightening the search for a first drill target at its 100%-owned Warby Tungsten Project, with 162 Phase 3 soil samples now at ALS Laboratory in Townsville and another 100 being collected in North Queensland.
The company expects assays from the submitted samples in October 2026. The work is designed to infill and extend the Phase 2 soil grid, where tungsten anomalies remain open to the north-east, south-west, north and west. For an explorer, that is the important transition: turning a broad surface signal into a ranked set of targets rather than simply adding another layer of reconnaissance data.
25-Metre Grid Tests the Open Anomalies
The completed sampling was conducted at 25-metre intervals along lines spaced 125 metres apart. Samples were collected with a power auger to a nominal depth of 0.5 metres in the B horizon, then screened to isolate the minus-180-micron fraction before shipment for analysis using ALS method ME-MS 81.
Lightning says Phase 2 reconnaissance soil and panned concentrate results indicated that known quartz-wolframite veins may form part of a broader vein swarm and a larger mineralised footprint than suggested by historical workings alone. That interpretation remains an exploration hypothesis, not a mineral resource estimate: the company’s own JORC disclosure says the current spacing may help establish some continuity, but further grid sampling or drilling would be required.
UNSW Studies Add Mineralogical Detail
Alongside the soil program, seven wolframite and scheelite quartz-vein and wall-rock samples have been sent to the University of New South Wales for petrological and mineralogical studies. The results are intended to improve understanding of the tungsten mineralisation and feed into Warby’s geological model.
Managing Director Troy Brice said Phase 3 was aimed at defining how far the system extends and sharpening targeting ahead of a maiden drill program. The next steps include completing the additional sampling, interpreting the October assays, considering further drainage sampling across the Lyndbrook Complex and using LiDAR to help identify concealed historical workings and structural features.
Assays Remain the Immediate Test
Warby is still at an early exploration stage. No drilling results, mineral resource or economic assessment are reported in the announcement, and the company says the present sampling cannot establish the extent of subsurface mineralisation. The investment case therefore turns on whether the next batch of geochemistry shows enough continuity and definition to justify trenching and drilling, rather than on the existence of an economic deposit today.
Bottom Line?
October’s assay results are the next decisive step: they need to convert open surface anomalies into coherent, drillable targets before Warby’s tungsten story can move beyond geochemical promise.
Questions in the middle?
- Will the Phase 3 assays confirm that the open tungsten anomalies are continuous across the expanded grid?
- What will the UNSW studies reveal about the mineralogy and orientation of the wolframite and scheelite veins?
- How many targets will ultimately rank highly enough to proceed to trenching or maiden drilling?