West Cobar Metals Secures High-Priority Lilyvale Copper Target in Cobar Basin

West Cobar Metals Secures New Copper Target, Building a District-Scale Position in NSW's Cobar Basin

West Cobar Metals Limited (ASX: WC1) has announced the formal grant of Exploration Licence EL9912, securing the high-priority Lilyvale copper target in the Cobar Basin of New South Wales. This move materially expands the company's footprint in one of Australia's most historically significant base metals regions, bringing its total controlled area to approximately 1,090km² along roughly 120km of strike of prospective Cobar stratigraphy.

The Lilyvale prospect is defined by a large gravity anomaly that WC1's technical team has interpreted to be potentially larger and more intense than the geophysical signature associated with the company's existing Bulla Park copper-antimony-silver deposit — a resource that already stands at 20Mt @ 0.58% CuEq and remains open for expansion.

With multiple targets now emerging across the project area and active exploration programmes imminent, West Cobar Metals secures Lilyvale copper target in the Cobar Basin as a meaningful step forward in WC1's ambition to define a new concealed copper district.

Managing Director Commentary

"The grant of EL9912 materially strengthens West Cobar's position as an emerging district-scale copper explorer in the Cobar Basin. Lilyvale is particularly exciting because the gravity anomaly appears of greater apparent size and intensity than the anomaly associated with our Bulla Park deposit, while surface geochemistry is considered supportive of a potentially concealed mineralised system beneath shallow cover.

We now have multiple high-priority targets emerging across the project area, including Lilyvale and Blind Freddie, both associated with the structural and geophysical signatures commonly seen in major Cobar-style mineral systems. With gravity surveys and drilling programmes planned, we believe WC1 is at the beginning of unlocking a potentially significant new concealed copper district."

— Matt Szwedzicki, Managing Director

A District-Scale Copper Position Takes Shape

The grant of EL9912 represents the latest addition to West Cobar's growing portfolio of exploration ground across the Cobar Basin. The company's Cobar West Project now encompasses five granted exploration licences (ELs 8642, 9195, 9281, 9260, and the newly granted 9912), plus one exploration licence application (ELA 7010), held through its wholly owned subsidiary Bulla Park Metals Pty Ltd.

The geological context is particularly compelling. Large portions of the company's tenure sit beneath younger Mulga Downs Group cover and alluvium, meaning the ground has seen limited effective historical exploration. This is not a liability but an opportunity.

As WC1's own Bulla Park deposit demonstrates, world-class mineralisation can sit concealed just 60–120 metres below the surface, with only subtle geochemical expression at the surface.

Understanding Cobar-Style Mineral Systems

Cobar-style mineral systems represent stratabound and fault-controlled accumulations of base and precious metals — typically copper, zinc, lead, gold, and silver — that formed within specific layers of ancient marine sedimentary rock sequences and along major fault zones. The Cobar Basin in central New South Wales has hosted significant base metal deposits for over a century, making it one of Australia's most historically important mining regions.

A defining characteristic of these systems is that they can be entirely concealed beneath younger, barren sedimentary cover, making them invisible at the surface. Discovery requires the integration of multiple datasets: gravity geophysics, geochemistry, and structural geology.

Why Does This Matter for Investors?

Concealed systems are challenging to identify, meaning they are often overlooked by explorers relying on traditional surface-based methods. Companies that combine modern geophysical interpretation with systematic geochemistry over the right geological package can identify targets that predecessors missed entirely.

WC1's approach — using gravity surveys to detect dense siderite-barite alteration halos (the same style of halo that characterises Bulla Park) — is precisely the methodology suited to unlocking concealed copper systems of this type.

The Three Pillars of the Cobar West Project

Bulla Park — The Proven Anchor

The Bulla Park deposit serves as the project's cornerstone and provides a critical exploration template for the broader land package. The resource is classified as an Inferred Mineral Resource under JORC 2012 guidelines:

Metallurgical testwork on diamond drill core has returned strong recoveries across all three payable metals:

• Copper: 94.6%
• Antimony: 84.1%
• Silver: 82.6%

Crucially, Bulla Park sits beneath 60–120m of barren cover with only subtle surface geochemical expression — proving that significant mineralisation can exist at shallow depths in this district without obvious surface indicators. This makes it the ideal analogue for evaluating newly secured targets across the broader project area.

Lilyvale — The Flagship New Target

The Lilyvale Prospect represents the centrepiece of the EL9912 grant and has immediately become one of WC1's highest-priority exploration targets. Key features of the prospect include:

• A prominent gravity anomaly interpreted to be larger and more intense than the geophysical signature at Bulla Park
• Extensive alluvial cover masking the underlying geology — consistent with the concealed mineralisation model
• Historical rock chip and float sampling showing broad lead anomalism comparable to that seen at Bulla Park
• Anomalous copper values providing additional support for a concealed copper system

The geological, geochemical, and geophysical characteristics at Lilyvale are considered by the company's technical team to be consistent with a concealed Bulla Park-style mineral system. At Bulla Park, copper-antimony-silver mineralisation is spatially associated with a significant near-surface lead anomaly defined by historical RAB drilling and geochemical sampling — the same pattern now being observed at Lilyvale.

Furthermore, detailed ground gravity surveys are planned to commence immediately to refine drill targets ahead of RC drilling.

Blind Freddie — A 2.5km Structural Anomaly

The Blind Freddie Prospect (ELA 7010, approximately 352km²) adds further scale to the project portfolio. Historical geochemical data has defined a coherent copper-gold anomaly extending at least 2.5km along a major interpreted structural corridor, associated with a strong gravity feature.

The anomaly is partially obscured by younger Mulga Downs sediments, reinforcing the concealed mineralisation model. The geophysical setting — a major fault interpreted from aeromagnetic data, combined with a strong gravity gradient adjacent to a gravity high — is considered consistent with known controls on Cobar-style mineralisation. The company has stated that RAB and aircore drilling are planned to test this target.

Exploration Pipeline and Upcoming Catalysts

West Cobar has outlined a clear sequence of near-term exploration activities across the project. These programmes are planned to commence immediately:

The company has indicated that RAB and RC drilling programmes at Bulla Park, Lilyvale, and Blind Freddie are planned during the current financial year, subject to available funding.

The Investment Case: Why This Announcement Matters

The Cobar Basin has produced some of Australia's most significant base metal mines over more than a century. What West Cobar is assembling — a district-scale exploration position with multiple high-priority targets, a defined resource as an analogue, and modern geophysical tools to test concealed ground — represents a genuinely differentiated exploration story.

Several factors make this announcement material for investors:

Scale of the land position. At 1,090km² across 120km of strike, WC1 controls one of the larger exploration footprints in the Cobar Basin, providing optionality across multiple targets simultaneously.

Quality of the Lilyvale gravity anomaly. The interpretation that Lilyvale's gravity signature may be larger and more intense than Bulla Park is significant. If the same geological controls apply, the target could represent a system of equal or greater scale to the existing resource.

Bulla Park as a proven template. The existence of a defined 20Mt resource at Bulla Park — with strong metallurgical recoveries across three payable metals — validates the geological model and provides a benchmark for evaluating new targets. Importantly, the resource remains open for expansion.

Blind Freddie adds another vector. A 2.5km copper-gold anomaly associated with a major structural corridor and gravity feature represents a meaningful exploration target in its own right, providing a second independent line of upside.

Systematic, modern approach. WC1's use of detailed gravity surveys to target concealed systems is well-suited to the covered terrain of the Cobar Basin, and the Bulla Park discovery demonstrates that this methodology works in this geological setting.

Why Investors Should Monitor West Cobar Metals

West Cobar is transitioning from a single defined discovery to the systematic testing of a district-scale land position that could host multiple deposits. The company has completed the foundational work — establishing a resource, proving the geological model, and identifying several compelling analogues — and is now moving into the phase where drilling results can materially re-rate the company's exploration position.

The Cobar Basin represents a mature mining address with proven infrastructure and a well-understood geological framework, reducing some of the geological uncertainty that accompanies more frontier exploration. Within that established address, WC1's focus on covered, underexplored ground using modern geophysical targeting provides a genuine advantage over explorers relying on traditional surface methods.

With ground gravity surveys at Lilyvale imminent and drilling programmes across Lilyvale, Blind Freddie, and Bulla Park planned for the current financial year, the company is approaching a series of newsflow catalysts that could substantially advance the investment case.

Key Takeaway:

West Cobar Metals has assembled a district-scale copper exploration position in the Cobar Basin, anchored by a defined 20Mt resource at Bulla Park and now expanded by the newly secured Lilyvale target — a gravity anomaly potentially larger than the one that led to Bulla Park's discovery. With multiple targets advancing toward drilling and a systematic geophysical programme about to commence, WC1 is positioned at an inflection point in its exploration journey. Investors with an appetite for copper exploration upside should monitor the company's upcoming drill results closely.

Ready to Dig Deeper Into West Cobar Metals' District-Scale Copper Story?

West Cobar Metals (ASX: WC1) is rapidly building one of the Cobar Basin's most compelling exploration positions — anchored by a defined 20Mt resource at Bulla Park and now expanded by the high-priority Lilyvale target, a gravity anomaly interpreted to be larger than the one that led to Bulla Park's discovery. With ground gravity surveys imminent and drilling programmes planned across multiple targets, WC1 is approaching a series of potential re-rating catalysts. Investors looking to learn more about the company's projects, exploration pipeline, and investment case can visit www.westcobarmetals.com.au.