Western Ridge Resources Confirms High-Grade Gold and Silver at Keystone Project Nevada

Western Ridge Resources Strikes High-Grade Gold and Silver Across Keystone Project, Signalling District-Scale Potential

Western Ridge Resources (ASX: WRX) has reported high-grade gold and silver sampling results from its Keystone Project in Nevada, with assays including 941 g/t silver, 344 g/t silver, 80.3 g/t gold, and 44.4 g/t gold. According to the ASX announcement, the results indicate mineralisation extends beyond the historic Keystone Mine workings and across a broader project footprint, with a drilling programme confirmed to commence in September 2026.

For investors, the update matters because it adds three practical layers to the Keystone story. First, it suggests the known mineralised area may be wider than the historic main lode. Second, it validates at least one previously identified geophysical target. Third, it supports the view that Western Ridge's recently expanded land position may host multiple mineralised centres rather than a single historic mine.

"These results confirm that the Keystone Project hosts a mineralised system extending beyond the historical mine workings," said Dr Matthew Cobb, Managing Director of Western Ridge Resources.

He added that high-grade silver results from stringer veins in drill pad cuttings indicate "a peripheral 'halo' persisting into the wallrock adjacent to the Keystone Mine's main lode", while sampling from Marble Rock and the expanded claim area suggests "the mineralised system may be larger than previously thought."

What Did the Sampling Programme Reveal?

In the announcement, Western Ridge said 10 representative rock chip samples were collected from underground adits, drill pad cuttings, and historic dump or mullock material, then submitted to ALS Laboratories in Reno, Nevada for base and precious metal analysis.

The headline numbers are strong on a stand-alone basis. However, the broader significance lies in the spread of the results across different parts of the project. High-grade values were returned from the main Keystone area, from peripheral veins beside the main lode, from the Marble Rock area, and from workings in the expanded claim package.

Key results reported by the company are set out below:

The company also reported lower-grade but anomalous silver results of 2.86 g/t and 1.21 g/t from altered wall rock close to mineralised veins, as well as 2.46 g/t silver from a sample at the Lunker Hill claims to the north-east that displayed epithermal vein textures. While these are not headline grades, they help map the extent of the hydrothermal system.

Three Discoveries Are Shaping the Keystone Exploration Model

The announcement points to three separate developments from this round of work. Together, they shift Keystone from a simple historic mine revisit towards a broader district-scale exploration target.

Do Peripheral Stringer Veins Widen the Target Zone?

The most important technical outcome may be the identification of stringer veins in the faces of drill pad cuttings prepared for the upcoming drilling campaign. A stringer vein is a thin branch vein that sits beside a larger mineralised structure. In accessible terms, it can signal that mineral-bearing fluids did not stay confined to one narrow vein.

One of these veins, approximately 20 cm thick, returned 344 g/t silver and 0.53 g/t gold. According to Western Ridge, these veins form a peripheral mineralised halo adjacent to the Keystone Mine's main lode.

Why does that matter? A narrow high-grade lode can be valuable, but a broader mineralised envelope may improve overall scale potential. At this early stage, that remains a geological interpretation rather than a resource conclusion. Nevertheless, it gives the September drilling programme a wider set of targets to test.

Marble Rock Sampling Validates Geophysical Targeting

At the Marble Rock / 599 part of the project, a grab sample from mullock next to a historic adit returned 4.1 g/t gold. The location sits approximately 500 metres north-west of the Keystone Mine and coincides with a target identified in the company's earlier airborne geophysical survey.

This is relevant because geophysical surveys are indirect tools. They detect changes in physical rock properties such as magnetism or conductivity, but they do not directly measure gold or silver grades. When a rock sample from a geophysical anomaly returns mineralisation, it increases confidence that the exploration method is finding real targets rather than background noise.

For investors, that means the remaining untested anomalies may warrant closer attention, although they still require field testing and drilling to confirm their significance.

Expanded Claims Deliver High-Grade Gold

Western Ridge recently expanded the Keystone claim holding by around 500%, and this latest sampling appears to support the rationale for that move. In the expanded claim area, mullock sampled from the entrance of a shaft returned 80.3 g/t gold and 44.4 g/t gold from a 2.4 kg sample, according to the announcement.

The company said this shaft is one of many historic workings within a 1 km radius, with numerous additional workings across the broader expanded area still to be adequately tested. That does not confirm continuity between workings, but it does indicate that mineralisation is not restricted to a single historic mine footprint.

Understanding Epithermal Systems and Why They Matter

Keystone is described in the announcement as an epithermal, hydrothermal system. For non-specialist investors, an epithermal deposit is a gold or silver system formed relatively close to the Earth's surface by hot, mineral-rich fluids moving through fractures in rock.

These systems are often associated with:

• Narrow but high-grade veins
• Multiple related structures, including subsidiary veins
• Distinctive quartz textures
• Metal-rich wall rock alteration close to the veins

The company reported textures such as bladed, drusy, and colloform quartz, along with boxwork after sulphides and autobrecciation. In plain terms, these are visual signs geologists use to recognise the paths taken by mineralising fluids and the chemical environment in which gold and silver may have formed.

Furthermore, a few useful terms from the announcement are worth clarifying:

• Stringer vein: a thin vein branching from a larger vein, sometimes carrying strong grades
• Mullock or dump material: rock removed during historic mining and left near old workings
• Adit: a horizontal tunnel driven into a hill or slope to access a mineralised zone
• Boxwork: a honeycomb-like texture left after sulphide minerals break down during weathering
• Wall rock: the host rock surrounding a vein

For investors, the presence of epithermal textures across multiple project areas matters because it supports the company's interpretation of a broad mineralising system. It does not establish an economic deposit, but it increases the geological coherence of the exploration model.

Keystone Project Context and Historical Backdrop

According to the company, the Keystone Project sits in the Pershing Trend in northern Nevada and includes 599 acres of deeded land plus 268 unpatented mineral claims across Pershing and Humboldt Counties. Western Ridge said it holds 100% exclusive rights to all property and mineral claims within the project.

The historic Keystone Mine provides a useful benchmark. Company records cited in the announcement state that between 1937 and 1943, around 1,700 tonnes of ore were extracted for approximately 36,000 ounces of silver. That equates to an implied historical average grade of roughly 658 g/t silver, based on simple arithmetic from reported figures.

Just as important is what has not happened. Western Ridge said no modern drilling has been completed at the project for more than 80 years, meaning the historic production record exists but modern subsurface data remain limited.

Key project facts from the ASX update include:

• Historic silver production: approximately 36,000 ounces
• Period of operation: 1937 to 1943 at the Keystone Mine
• No modern drilling: more than 80 years
• Claim expansion: approximately 500%
• Ownership: 100% of all property and claims within the project

This combination of historic production, surface sampling, expanded tenure, and pending first-pass drilling is what gives the project its current investor relevance.

What Comes Next With the September 2026 Drilling Programme?

The next major catalyst is clear. Western Ridge confirmed that a drilling programme will commence in September 2026 to test the strike extent, depth, and widths of the main Keystone mineralised system.

In practical terms:

• Strike extent refers to how far the mineralised structure continues along its horizontal direction
• Depth extension tests whether the structure continues below historic workings
• Width testing helps determine whether mineralisation is confined to a narrow vein or sits within a broader zone

The sampling programme has already influenced that work because some of the stringer veins were identified in the drill pad cuttings themselves. This means the company goes into drilling with fresh geological observations from the immediate target area.

A simplified view of upcoming milestones is set out below:

Why Does This Announcement Matter to Investors?

Several elements of the report strengthen the exploration case, even while the project remains at an early stage.

The first is scale potential. Sampling suggests mineralisation is present in multiple settings, not just within the historic main lode. That broadens the geological target considerably.

The second is target validation. The Marble Rock result aligns with a previously identified airborne geophysical anomaly, which supports the company's targeting approach. That does not guarantee success on other anomalies, but it provides an early proof point.

The third is near-term news flow. September drilling is close enough to be a defined catalyst, and it is expected to provide the first direct test of continuity, depth, and width at Keystone using modern methods.

There is also the historical grade backdrop. The old mine's production record suggests the area has hosted high-grade silver before, while the latest samples introduce high-grade gold from the expanded claims. Investors typically watch closely when a project combines historic production with no modern drilling and current high-grade surface results.

Western Ridge still needs drilling to determine whether these surface samples connect into mineable volumes. That is the central unanswered question. Even so, the latest ASX announcement indicates that the Keystone Project in Nevada may be a larger and more complex mineralised system than historical records alone had implied.

For investors following ASX gold stocks, ASX silver explorers, and Nevada mineral exploration, Western Ridge's Keystone Project is approaching a more informative phase. The upcoming drill programme is expected to determine whether the project's high-grade surface results translate into continuity at depth and across strike, which is the next step in assessing the broader value of this discovery.

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