West Cobar Metals Limited (ASX:WC1) advances multi project critical minerals workstreams

West Cobar Metals has outlined steady progress across its Salazar Critical Minerals Project in Western Australia, the Bulla Park Copper Antimony Project in New South Wales and the Mystique Gold Project in Western Australia, with activity spanning metallurgical testwork, resource evaluation and drill planning.

The update reflects a company balancing near term technical work with broader positioning across several commodity streams central to current supply chain discussions.

Highlights

• Metallurgical testwork has commenced at Salazar to assess heap leach potential, with a focus on producing a rare earth element carbonate product and monitoring scandium and gallium extractability

• Review of the Salazar database is underway to assess the potential inclusion of gallium in the Mineral Resource estimate

• Re assaying of Bulla Park drill core has commenced to address under reported antimony, with initial results expected in January

• Drill planning is progressing at Bulla Park to test higher grade zones and extend mineralisation within a large gravity anomaly

• Aircore drilling at Mystique has confirmed widespread gold, with reviews underway to define next steps and an additional 639 km2 applied for adjacent to the project

At Salazar, located around 120 km north east of Esperance, West Cobar is advancing metallurgical work at the Nagrom laboratory in Perth, with testwork expected to run through Q1 2026.

The program is designed to evaluate the amenability of Salazar ores to heap leach processing, a lower capital intensity option relative to conventional tank leaching.

Samples have been composited from upper and lower saprolite zones, with the primary objective of producing a rare earth element carbonate while closely monitoring scandium and gallium deportment, with the outcomes intended to inform a scoping study planned for early CY2026.

The Salazar project hosts previously reported Mineral Resources that include 230 Mt at 1178 ppm TREO across Indicated and Inferred categories, alongside separate Inferred resources for scandium, titanium dioxide and alumina.

The company is reviewing its extensive database with a view to declaring a gallium Mineral Resource estimate, potentially adding another element to the existing multi commodity profile.

Managing Director Matt Szwedzicki said,

“The Salazar Critical Minerals Project consists of major established resources of REEs, scandium, TiO2 and alumina suitable for HPA production. An extensive metallurgical testwork program has commenced aimed at evaluating a heap leach option for extraction of the high value minerals. In addition, we have been working through a potential update to our multi element Mineral Resource estimate to include gallium.”

At Bulla Park, located approximately 120 km west of Cobar, West Cobar Metals is addressing technical issues identified in historical assays.

Re analysis of selected drill core using a peroxide fusion digest method has shown antimony grades were previously under reported, with initial results indicating average increases of 14% and up to 62% on individual samples.

A broader re assay program is now underway, covering all available mineralised intersections, with Bulla Park currently hosting an Inferred Mineral Resource of 20 Mt at 0.58% CuEq that has been defined from limited drilling within a much larger gravity anomaly.

The company is also designing a combined RC and diamond drilling program, with an initial 3000 m RC campaign proposed to test gravity highs interpreted as thicker zones of mineralisation, with the objective of assessing both grade potential and overall scale across the broader system.

At the Mystique Gold Project, recent aircore drilling has confirmed gold over widespread areas associated with north west south east trending structures.

West Cobar is reviewing results with regional consultants to determine follow up drilling, while expanding its land position through applications for an additional 639 km2 of prospective ground.

Taken together, the update positions West Cobar as an explorer progressing multiple technically distinct workstreams.

The near term focus remains on metallurgical definition at Salazar, assay validation and drill planning at Bulla Park, and target refinement at Mystique, with each contributing data that will inform future studies and activity decisions within a complex critical minerals landscape.

Please note the following valuable information before using this website. 

Independent Research 

Market Open Australia is intended to be used only for educational and informative purposes, and any information on this website should not be taken as investment advice or guidance. It is important to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions, which should be based on your own investment needs and personal circumstances. Any investment decisions based on information contained on this website should be taken in line with independent financial advice from a qualified professional or should be independently researched and verified.