West Coast Silver has crossed from explorer to resource-stage company after defining 2.795 million ounces of contained silver at Elizabeth Hill. The project has generated strong drilling results and fresh funding, but the company remains loss-making and yet to establish an economic development case.
- 2.795Moz maiden JORC resource at Elizabeth Hill
- High-grade drilling extends mineralisation beyond current resource
- A$5.92m placement completed after year-end
- A$12.64m attributable loss and A$9.35m operating cash outflow
- Resource update planned for December 2026 quarter
Elizabeth Hill delivers maiden 2.795Moz resource
West Coast Silver Limited (ASX:WCE) has put a number on its flagship Elizabeth Hill project, reporting a maiden JORC 2012 Mineral Resource Estimate of 141,000 tonnes at 617 grams per tonne silver for 2.795 million ounces of contained silver. The April estimate, reported above a 20 g/t cut-off and within an optimised open-pit shell, marks the company’s shift from early-stage explorer to resource-stage developer.
The headline figure needs a closer look. The resource contains 2.426 million ounces in the Inferred category at 1,331 g/t silver, compared with 369,000 ounces of Indicated material at 137 g/t. That makes the estimate a significant exploration milestone, but not an ore reserve or an economic development outcome.
Drilling pushes beyond the current resource
West Coast’s drilling results point to a larger mineralised system than the April model captured. Diamond hole 26WCDD037 returned 38.3 metres at 878 g/t silver from 3.7 metres, including 22.3 metres at 1,495 g/t and a separate 13.5-metre zone at 2,253 g/t. The company said all three final holes in that sequence intersected mineralisation beyond the western limit of the resource.
Earlier work also outlined a broad, shallow envelope north and west of the resource, including 60 metres at 25 g/t silver from surface in reverse-circulation drilling. Deeper drilling identified a separate zone beneath and south of the historical workings, with 3 metres at 524 g/t silver including 1.5 metres at 1,039 g/t. West Coast plans to incorporate the 2026 drilling into a resource update targeted for the December 2026 quarter.
Funding improves after a costly exploration year
The resource progress came at a substantial financial cost. West Coast recorded a loss attributable to its owners of A$12.64 million for the year, compared with A$6.08 million in 2025, while net operating cash outflows increased to A$9.35 million from A$2.21 million. Exploration and evaluation expenditure was A$7.13 million, and share-based payment expense added A$2.90 million to the reported loss.
Cash at 30 June was A$2.92 million, alongside current liabilities of A$1.92 million. After year-end, the company issued 62.3 million shares in the first tranche of a placement that raised A$5.92 million before costs; a further A$80,000 director tranche remains subject to shareholder approval. The funding gives West Coast more room to pursue drilling, metallurgical work and technical studies, although the company’s own accounts identify continued reliance on capital access as a material risk.
Processing and exploration pathways remain untested
West Coast is assessing a staged path from resource growth towards metallurgy, processing options and a scoping study. A non-binding memorandum with Artemis Resources covers the potential use of the nearby Radio Hill processing plant, but it remains an evaluation step rather than a processing agreement or development commitment. Regional geophysics has also identified 28 structural targets along about 6.8 kilometres of the Munni Munni Fault corridor.
The company retains a 70% interest in Elizabeth Hill and associated silver rights across an approximately 180-square-kilometre project area. At Errabiddy, farm-in partner Falcon Metals is preparing a roughly 3,500-metre maiden reverse-circulation programme at Olsen Well, funded by Falcon and targeted for the September 2026 quarter. That work provides a separate exploration catalyst without the reported drilling cost falling directly on West Coast.
Bottom Line?
The next resource update will test whether Elizabeth Hill’s impressive grades can translate into a larger, more confident and economically assessable project before the new funding is consumed.
Questions in the middle?
- How much of the additional drilling will convert Inferred material into Indicated resources?
- Can metallurgical work support a practical processing route at Radio Hill or elsewhere?
- How long will the post-year-end funding support exploration at the company’s current cash-burn rate?