Perpetual’s Nevada tungsten model gains momentum after 12.03% WO₃ sample

Underground samples return exceptional tungsten grades

Perpetual Resources Limited (ASX:PEC) has produced its most striking evidence yet of high-grade tungsten at the Nevada Scheelite project, with a selective sample from the historic 200-foot level grading 12.03% WO₃. Seven other underground samples returned between 1.34% and 5.79% WO₃, while the remaining sample from the scheelite-extension adit was below 0.01% WO₃.

The strongest results came from the 100-foot and 200-foot levels: 5.79%, 4.89% and 1.34% WO₃ on the former, followed by 12.03%, 5.76%, 4.48% and 3.28% on the latter. The results sit alongside surface skarn assays of 1.18% and 1.10% WO₃, broadly consistent with historical grades reported for the workings.

Modern mapping links historic workings to drill targets

The assays arrive as Perpetual completes an underground LiDAR survey covering the main shaft, decline shaft and the 100-foot to 400-foot levels. The company is combining that 3D survey with digitised mine plans, historical drilling data and new assays to model the granite-limestone contact and prioritise targets along strike, down-plunge and below the historic 550-foot level.

The work builds on the company’s and its broader expansion of the Nevada ground. Perpetual recently added 62 unpatented lode claims covering about 1,272 acres around the patented claims, more than 15 times the original claim area, in a move that left the surrounding ground largely untested. The current filing says drilling arrangements are under review, with confirmation expected in the coming weeks.

Selective sampling limits what the grades prove

The headline numbers come with an important qualification. The underground program was designed to assess access, ground conditions and mineralised structures, and samples were selected using short-wave ultraviolet light and handheld XRF screening. They are therefore biased towards visibly mineralised material and are not measures of average grade, width or continuity.

“Exposure on the 400-foot level photographed under short-wave ultraviolet light, showing scheelite fluorescence.”

“Long section view (looking NW) of the underground LiDAR model combined with digitisation of underground long section and level plans of the Nevada Scheelite Mine, showing…”

Caption and image © Perpetual Resources Limited. From “Surface and Underground Sampling Returns High-Grade Tungsten”, 26 Oct 2026.

Two of the higher results, NS9 and NS10, were grab samples of broken stope material rather than in-situ exposures. Sample locations for the 100-foot and 200-foot levels were plotted approximately from mine plans, and the company notes that the small sample masses may be affected by the coarse-grained nature of scheelite. ALS certificates also did not include reported laboratory standards, blanks or duplicates for this reconnaissance batch.

Gold and copper prospect adds a separate exploration thread

A separate surface prospect about 210 metres northeast of the main shaft produced a grab sample grading 55.9 grams per tonne gold, 386 grams per tonne silver and 1.43% copper. Perpetual treats this occurrence as distinct from the tungsten skarn for now: geological mapping and petrography are planned to test whether it relates to the Nevada Scheelite granite or a later epithermal overprint associated with the nearby Denton-Rawhide district.

The immediate technical agenda is more prosaic than the headline assay: systematic channel sampling and underground mapping, re-assaying preserved historical drill core, soil geochemistry across the expanded claims and completion of the 3D geological model. Only then can the company test whether the isolated high-grade points connect into mineable widths or a coherent modern exploration target.