Encounter Resources Confirms New Copper Zone at Lamil Elsa

Encounter Resources Hits New Copper Zone at Lamil — And the Drill Bit Is Still Turning

Encounter Resources Limited (ASX: ENR) has delivered its first assay results from an ongoing RC drilling program at the Elsa prospect within its 100%-owned Lamil Copper-Gold Project in Western Australia's Paterson Province — and the opening batch has already changed the story. The Encounter Resources Lamil Elsa copper drilling results in Paterson Province have confirmed copper mineralisation at the far eastern end of the Elsa target, a location that was previously untested.

Drill hole ETG262 returned 16m @ 0.30% Cu from 58m, confirming copper mineralisation at an entirely new zone. Critically, this result sits at the end of a drill line and remains open, pointing to potential mineralisation extending further into unexplored territory.

The program has since been expanded from 6,000m to 9,000m to properly test the scale of what may be emerging. This is an early-stage but meaningful development. Four holes have returned assays so far, with 32 more holes drilled and results pending over the next four to six weeks. Diamond drilling to test depth is planned to follow.

What Was Found — and Why the Location Matters

The Elsa prospect sits at the south-eastern end of the Lamil dome, centred on a series of distinct magnetic anomalies. The system is anomalous in copper, gold, arsenic, molybdenum, and bismuth — a geochemical signature consistent with intrusive-related mineralisation.

Prior drilling at Elsa intersected wide zones of brecciated, fractured, and veined metasediments with intense sulphide alteration and cement. Encounter's interpretation is that this extensive breccia and alteration system represents a major structural fluid pathway — potentially a feeder system similar in style to the Havieron gold-copper discovery, located 80km to the east.

The first batch of assay results from the Encounter Resources Lamil Elsa copper drilling results in Paterson Province captured mineralisation at the easternmost point of the current drill program:

Note: Results are reported as downhole length. True widths are not yet known due to insufficient drilling to determine geometry.

The key takeaway is not just the grade — it is the position of ETG262. As the most eastern drill hole of the entire program, finding copper mineralisation here extends the known footprint of the Elsa system. In the words of the company, this result "opens up a new untested area at Lamil."

"Intersecting copper in the first batch of assays at the far eastern end of the Elsa target is a promising start to the program. It confirms that mineralisation extends beyond the initial target area and opens up a new untested area at Lamil." — Executive Chairman Will Robinson

Understanding Breccia Pipes — and Why Havieron Comparisons Matter

What Is a Breccia Pipe?

A breccia pipe is a roughly cylindrical column of fragmented rock formed when fluids or gases force their way upward through the earth's crust, breaking and displacing rock along the way. The chaotic mix of broken rock fragments and the spaces between them can act as a conduit and trap for mineralising fluids carrying metals like copper and gold.

Breccia-hosted systems can concentrate metals over large volumes of rock, which is why some of the world's most significant copper-gold deposits share this geological style. Encounter's drilling at Elsa has consistently intersected wide zones of brecciated and veined rock with intense sulphide alteration — characteristics consistent with a large structural fluid pathway.

How Does Havieron Provide Context?

The comparison to Havieron is not made lightly. Havieron — located 80km east of Lamil — is a breccia-hosted gold-copper system that now stands at 7.0Moz Au and 275kt Cu. The Paterson Province more broadly hosts a cluster of large-scale copper-gold deposits:

Encounter is not claiming equivalence with these deposits. The Elsa system remains at an early stage of drilling and resource delineation. However, the geological setting, alteration style, and proximity to proven large-scale mineralisation provide meaningful context for the work underway.

Glossary of Key Terms

• RC Drilling (Reverse Circulation): A drilling method that uses compressed air to bring rock chips back to the surface for sampling. Fast and cost-effective for surface-to-moderate depths.
• Diamond Drilling: A drilling technique that extracts a solid cylinder of rock (core), enabling detailed geological analysis and testing at depth.
• Breccia: Rock composed of angular fragments cemented together — often formed by faulting, intrusive activity, or fluid-driven fracturing.
• Geochemical Anomalism: Elevated concentrations of metals or pathfinder elements in rock or soil samples that may indicate the presence of a nearby ore deposit.
• Assay: A laboratory test to determine the metal content of a rock sample, expressed in grams per tonne (Au) or parts per million / percentage (Cu).

A Project with Early-Stage but Genuine Track Record

Lamil covers approximately 61km² and sits 25km northwest of the Telfer copper-gold mine. Encounter has been drilling across three prospect areas — Dune, Gap, and Elsa — with previous results demonstrating that Lamil carries genuine mineralisation across multiple parts of the system:

These results — across different prospects and different styles of mineralisation — underscore the breadth of the Lamil system. Furthermore, the current focus on Elsa via the RC program aims to systematically map the breccia system's extent before committing capital to deeper diamond drilling.

What Comes Next — A Packed Catalyst Schedule

Three of the five planned RC drill lines at Elsa have been completed. Additional holes have been added to the expanded 9,000m program, and the timeline for upcoming activity is clearly defined:

The sequencing here is deliberate. Encounter is using the RC program to identify the most geochemically and geologically prospective zones before applying the higher cost of diamond drilling. This approach directs the diamond program at the best targets — a standard but important capital management discipline in early-stage exploration.

The expansion of the RC program from 6,000m to 9,000m is also a signal. The geological observations on the ground are compelling enough to justify more work before moving to the next phase.

The Investment Thesis — Paterson Province Exploration at Scale

Encounter Resources is not a single-project company. Its strategy centres on high-impact discovery across a portfolio of 100%-owned projects in Tier 1 Australian jurisdictions, with copper and critical minerals as the primary focus.

What Makes the Lamil Case Compelling?

At Lamil, the investment case rests on several key pillars:

1. A large, underexplored breccia system — the RC program is actively mapping the footprint of what the company believes could be a significant copper-gold system, with the new eastern zone adding potential scale.
2. Proximity to proven mineralisation — Lamil sits in the heart of the Paterson Province, 25km from Telfer and 80km west of Havieron.
3. Multiple prospects — Dune, Gap, and Elsa each carry prior mineralised intersections, providing optionality across the tenure.
4. A busy newsflow window — with RC assays pending across up to 32 holes, a new drilling program at Yeneena starting in June, and diamond drilling at Elsa planned for Q3 2026.

Beyond Lamil, Encounter additionally holds the Aileron Project in the West Arunta region — a critical minerals-focused project with an established Inferred Mineral Resource for niobium — and the Tyrell Project hosting a copper oxide Mineral Resource. This diversification across copper and critical minerals is relevant context for investors evaluating the company's overall portfolio.

Why Encounter Resources Warrants Attention

The opening result at Elsa is genuinely meaningful — not because 16m @ 0.30% Cu transforms the company overnight, but because of what it implies about the geometry of the system. Finding copper in the first hole assayed, at the far eastern end of the program, in a location that was not previously tested, tells you the mineralised footprint is larger than initially defined.

The Encounter Resources Lamil Elsa copper drilling results in Paterson Province demonstrate the potential for system expansion well beyond the original target area. With most of the RC assays still to come and diamond drilling on the horizon, the next three months represent the most significant data-gathering period in the history of the Elsa prospect.

The company is drilling in one of the world's most endowed copper-gold provinces, with a clear plan, an expanded program, and meaningful early confirmation that mineralisation is heading in the right direction.

"Encounter Resources has identified a new copper zone at the eastern edge of its Elsa prospect — a result that expands the potential footprint of a breccia system the company believes shares geological characteristics with the nearby Havieron deposit. With up to 32 holes of assay results still pending, diamond drilling planned for Q3 2026, and a new drilling program commencing at Yeneena in June, ENR's catalyst pipeline over the next two quarters is among the most active in Paterson Province exploration."

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