Iltani Resources Kicks Off 2026 Drilling at Orient Silver-Indium Project

Drill Bits in the Ground: Iltani Resources Kicks Off Its Most Ambitious Exploration Campaign Yet

Iltani Resources starts 2026 drilling at the Orient Silver-Indium Project in Herberton, North Queensland, with the first holes at Orient West already completed. For a company sitting on Australia's largest known silver-indium deposit, the commencement of a 115-hole, 16,000-metre RC drilling programme marks one of the most significant operational milestones in its history. First assay results are expected by late May or early June 2026.

"Finally, we have started our 2026 Herberton Project drilling programme, with the first holes at Orient West completed over the weekend. Now that the drilling is underway, it is going to be exciting to see what the drill rigs deliver, not only at Orient, but across the Herberton Project as we drill multiple exciting targets. We are confident that we can make up for the time we have lost and complete the drilling programmes as designed."
— Donald Garner, Managing Director, Iltani Resources

What Iltani Is Sitting On: A Resource Base That Demands Attention

Before understanding what this drilling campaign could unlock, it helps to appreciate the scale of what already exists in the ground. Orient is not a speculative grassroots target — it is a 34.2 million tonne JORC-compliant Mineral Resource grading 110.4 g/t silver equivalent, making it Australia's largest known silver-indium deposit.

The deposit is divided into two defined zones — Orient East and Orient West — each with meaningful tonnage and grade.

Orient Project — Total JORC Resource (60 g/t Ag Eq. cut-off)

Orient East vs. Orient West — Side-by-Side Comparison

Orient East carries a higher grade per tonne, while Orient West contributes the bulk of the tonnage and, notably, 456 tonnes of contained indium — a figure that deserves particular attention given indium's role in modern technology applications.

Beyond the existing resource, there is a material Exploration Target of 15.4 – 18.8 Mt at 95 – 117 g/t Ag Eq., representing additional mineralisation that has not yet been converted into a formal Mineral Resource. The current drilling campaign is specifically designed to attack this upside.

Understanding Indium: The Critical Mineral Most Investors Haven't Heard Of

One element in Iltani's resource base warrants closer examination — indium.

What Is Indium?

Indium is a soft, silvery-white metal produced almost entirely as a byproduct of zinc smelting. It is classified as a critical mineral in multiple jurisdictions due to concentrated global supply and its essential role in high-technology applications. Most notably, indium is a key component in indium tin oxide (ITO) — the transparent conductive coating used in touchscreens, flat-panel displays, and solar panels.

Supply Chain Characteristics

Unlike silver, lead, or zinc — which trade on well-established global commodity markets — indium has a relatively thin market with supply dominated by a small number of countries. China controls approximately 50% of global indium production, consequently creating potential supply chain concerns for technology manufacturers worldwide.

Investment Implications

Orient's 579 tonnes of contained indium within the current JORC resource represents significant value that may not be immediately apparent when scanning headline silver or zinc numbers. At a price assumption of US$350/kg (as used in Iltani's metallurgical equivalent calculation), this represents substantial contained metal value in a commodity with limited alternative sources.

According to Iltani, metallurgical test work indicates that indium is expected to be recoverable into a zinc-indium-silver concentrate, alongside silver and lead reporting to a separate lead-silver concentrate.

Key Terms Used in This Article:

The 2026 Drilling Campaign: Scale, Objectives, and What Success Looks Like

This is not a modest infill programme. Iltani's 2026 campaign at Orient alone involves 115 RC holes for approximately 16,000 metres, added to the approximately 30,000 metres already drilled across 145 prior holes. Two RC rigs are deployed to execute the programme.

The programme has five clear objectives:

1. Upgrade Orient West to Indicated category — tightening drill spacing to lift resource confidence, which is a prerequisite for more advanced project studies
2. Upgrade Orient East to Indicated category — applying the same logic to the higher-grade eastern zone
3. Test strike extensions at both Orient East and Orient West to grow the total resource footprint
4. Define the Link Zone — the gap between Orient East and Orient West, which could prove to be a significant connector of mineralisation
5. Test new targets — including Orient North, Vein 1, and previously drilled VTEM geophysical anomalies that were cut short when wet season arrived last year

Orient 2026 Drilling Programme Summary

According to the company, first assay results from the initial batch of holes are expected towards late May or early June 2026.

Beyond Orient: The Broader Herberton Project Opportunity

Orient sits within Iltani's much larger Herberton Project, encompassing approximately 370 km² of wholly owned tenements in the Herberton Mineral Field of North Queensland. This terrain has documented mining history stretching back to tin discoveries in 1880, with more than 2,400 historical mines and prospects recorded across the broader Herberton–Mt Garnet region.

Once Orient drilling concludes — expected in approximately four months — Iltani plans to mobilise rigs across a range of additional targets within this landholding.

Herberton Project 2026 Preliminary Drill Programme

Iltani describes Isabel as a low tonnage, exceptionally high-grade Cu-Pb-Zn-In-Ag massive sulphide deposit — a style of mineralisation that can generate significant value at relatively modest scales. Furthermore, the breadth of this multi-target programme across diverse commodity types — silver, gold, copper, indium, and antimony — reflects genuine exploration optionality across the Herberton tenement package.

Building Long-Term Understanding: Scientific Approach to District Exploration

Alongside the physical drilling, Iltani is investing in the geological knowledge base that underpins long-term exploration success at Orient.

Two initiatives stand out:

Structural Geology Consulting

A specialist structural geologist attended site in March to begin studying the timing and controls on mineralisation at Orient. Field mapping at Orient and Antimony Reward is scheduled for late April, which aims to inform where mineralisation is most likely to continue at depth and along strike.

University of Queensland and CSIRO Industry PhD Programme

Iltani is sponsoring a PhD student in conjunction with UQ and the CSIRO's Industry PhD (iPhD) programme to conduct geochronological and mineralogical studies on the Orient system over a four-year period, commencing in early April.

The aim is to develop vectors for finding further mineralisation — both within the existing Orient footprint and across the broader Herberton tenement holding, with particular focus on the Featherbed calderas.

These are not high-profile announcements; however, they signal a company thinking systematically about the long-term exploration potential of a district-scale landholding — not just drilling the known resource.

Upcoming Catalysts: What Investors Should Be Watching

Each batch of assay results from the 115-hole Orient programme represents a potential news catalyst, with the programme structured so that results are submitted in batches of 3–4 holes at a time. Consequently, a sustained period of newsflow is expected throughout mid-2026.

The Investment Case in Focus

Iltani's story is anchored by a set of characteristics that are relatively rare at this stage of the exploration lifecycle:

• Defined scale: A 34.2 Mt JORC resource already in place provides a credible foundation. This is not a company exploring from scratch.
• Upside from known ground: The Exploration Target of 15.4–18.8 Mt sits adjacent to and around the existing resource — additional tonnes that drilling is specifically designed to define.
• Critical mineral exposure: Indium, with 579 tonnes contained in the current resource, gives Iltani exposure to a metal that has a structurally thin global supply chain and high-technology demand drivers.
• Multi-commodity, multi-target portfolio: Silver, indium, lead, zinc, copper, gold, and antimony targets exist across a 370 km² landholding — a breadth that provides multiple opportunities at meaningful discovery.
• Resource upgrade pathway: The current programme aims to convert Inferred material to Indicated — a process that typically increases the strategic value of a deposit by reducing uncertainty for any future development or partnering scenario.
• District-scale tenure: Over 2,400 historical mines and prospects in the broader Herberton Mineral Field speak to the enduring productivity of the geological terrain Iltani controls.

"Key Takeaway: Iltani Resources (ASX: ILT) has moved from planning to execution, with drills now turning at Australia's largest known silver-indium deposit. A 115-hole, 16,000-metre programme targeting resource upgrades, extensions, and new discoveries — combined with a pipeline of additional Herberton targets and a long-term geological research programme — creates a sustained period of potential newsflow throughout 2026. With first assay results expected by late May or early June, investors focused on silver, indium, and critical minerals exposure should have this name on their radar."

Ready to Dig Deeper Into Iltani Resources' Silver-Indium Story?

With drills already turning at Australia's largest known silver-indium deposit and a 115-hole programme set to deliver a sustained run of assay results throughout mid-2026, Iltani Resources (ASX: ILT) is entering one of the most catalyst-rich periods in its history. From resource upgrades at Orient to multi-target exploration across 370 km² of Herberton tenure, the investment case is grounded in defined scale, critical mineral exposure, and genuine discovery potential. To learn more about the company and its projects, visit the Iltani Resources website.