Western Ridge Resources has completed its first modern drilling campaign at the Keystone silver-gold project in Nevada in more than 80 years, with assays from nine holes still pending. The company is also expanding into Western Australia’s Murchison region, but ended the quarter with only A$495,000 in cash and less than one quarter of estimated funding.
- 1,400-metre, nine-hole maiden RC program completed at Keystone
- Maiden conceptual silver Exploration Target of 7.885 to 14.555 million ounces
- High-grade sampling returned up to 941 g/t silver and 44.4 g/t gold
- Proposed Murchison acquisition adds gold and antimony projects near Big Bell
- A$1.31 million funding subject to shareholder approval as cash falls below one quarter of estimated needs
Western Ridge Resources Limited (ASX:WRX) has reached the most important technical milestone yet at its Nevada silver project: nine reverse-circulation holes have been completed at Keystone, the first modern drilling there in more than 80 years. Assays are now pending from all nine holes, leaving the company’s conceptual exploration story waiting for its first meaningful subsurface test.
Keystone drilling tests historic high-grade workings
The 1,400-metre program, completed in September, targeted areas near the Keystone Mine main lode and followed sampling that returned up to 941 grams per tonne of silver and 44.4g/t of gold. The campaign was designed using geological mapping, historic mine plans, field reconnaissance and structural modelling, with samples submitted to ALS Laboratories in Reno.
The program builds on the company’s maiden Keystone silver target, which covers the Keystone Mine and immediate surrounds. Western Ridge reports a tabled Exploration Target of 310,000 to 419,000 tonnes at 786g/t to 1,070g/t silver, equivalent to 7.885 million to 14.555 million contained ounces. That estimate is conceptual, is not a Mineral Resource and carries uncertainty around vein thickness, continuity and grade.
Recent surface and underground sampling has also identified mineralisation beyond the initial target area. At the Marble Rock and 599 workings, a grab sample from mullock returned 4.1g/t gold, while a 3.3-kilogram sample from a peripheral stringer vein returned 344g/t silver and 0.53g/t gold. Those results sit alongside the company’s high-grade Keystone sampling, which highlighted silver assays up to 941g/t and gold assays up to 44.4g/t in July.
Murchison acquisition broadens the exploration portfolio
Post-quarter, Western Ridge agreed to acquire Odin Capital Group, which holds the Seven Mile Well, Lady Alma and Jasper Star projects across four granted Murchison tenements. Seven Mile Well lies about 7km along strike from Westgold Resources’ Big Bell gold deposit and carries a conceptual Exploration Target of 2 million to 11 million tonnes at 1g/t to 5g/t gold, or 130,000 to 1 million ounces of contained gold.
The new portfolio comes with a near-term work program rather than a production asset. Western Ridge plans an induced polarisation survey and RC drilling at Seven Mile Well, alongside 2,000 metres of aircore drilling at Lady Alma in the fourth quarter of 2026. The company must also incur or commit at least $325,000 of exploration expenditure on the acquired tenements within three months of completion.
Funding supports the program but leaves little room
Cash is the less glamorous, and more immediate, part of the report. Western Ridge ended September with A$495,000 after spending A$414,000 on exploration and evaluation and A$172,000 on operating activities. The Appendix 5B calculates available funding at less than one quarter at the reported spending rate, while the company says it expects a similar level of net operating cash flow next quarter.
That pressure is partly addressed by a proposed A$1.31 million placement of 52.4 million shares at A$0.025, subject to shareholder approval on 13 November 2026. The Murchison transaction also includes A$200,000 in cash, A$500,000 in consideration shares and performance securities, with a further proposed issue of 50 million adviser options requiring approval. The immediate investment case therefore turns on two pending events: whether shareholders approve the funding and acquisition-related securities, and whether Keystone’s assays justify a second drilling phase.
Bottom Line?
Keystone assays are the next decisive test, but shareholder approval and the proposed A$1.31 million funding will determine how much exploration Western Ridge can pursue before the cash buffer tightens further.
Questions in the middle?
- Will the nine Keystone holes confirm continuity and grade beyond the historic workings, or narrow the conceptual silver target?
- Will shareholders approve the A$1.31 million placement and the securities linked to the Murchison acquisition?
- Can Western Ridge advance Keystone, Seven Mile Well and Lady Alma simultaneously without materially increasing its funding requirements?