Drilling programme under way
Great Western Mining Corporation PLC announced on 18 August 2026 that drilling had commenced at its Defender Tungsten Project in Mineral County, Nevada. The AIM- and Euronext Growth-listed strategic minerals explorer said the programme began on 17 August 2026 and is designed to test an initial 600–1,000-metre corridor encompassing the historic Pine Crow, Dough God and Defender tungsten mines, all components of the wider project.
Scope and budget of the work
The campaign covers a minimum of 7,000 feet (2,135 metres) of drilling and may include up to 22 holes. The work is fully funded, according to the company, which has framed the effort as the geological data foundation needed for a maiden JORC-compliant Mineral Resource Estimate targeted for the end of 2026. Great Western engaged Addison Mining Services as the independent Competent Person for the resource estimate on 4 August 2026, and Addison's Lewis Harvey is on site overseeing logging, sampling, data capture and quality control alongside Chief Executive Ed Loye.
Expected results timeline
Assay results from the drilling are expected through September and October 2026. Separately, results from a 750-kilogram Q2 2026 bulk-sample metallurgical test are anticipated in August 2026. In commentary accompanying the announcement, Loye described the start of drilling as the culmination of preparatory geophysics, geological mapping, channel sampling and drill pad construction, and said the news flow would remain busy through the remainder of the year.
Project context
The Defender Tungsten Project aggregates the historic Widowmaker, Pine Crow, Dough God and Defender tungsten mines along a roughly two-kilometre mineralised corridor in Mineral County. Prior exploration work by Great Western, including geophysics, geological mapping, trenching and surface sampling, identified tungsten mineralisation across the project and informed the drill plan now under way. The company trades on AIM under the ticker GWMO, on Euronext Growth as 8GW and on the OTCQB as GWMOF.
What remains to be seen
The maiden resource estimate's timing and scope depend on the September–October assay results and on the pending metallurgical data, which together will indicate whether the corridor supports the continuity and grade needed for a JORC-compliant disclosure.
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