Stelar Metals Ltd. has reported extraordinary surface sampling results from its Hill of Leaders tungsten project in the Northern Territory, hitting grades up to 15.69 per cent tungsten trioxide ahead of its maiden drilling campaign.
The Phase 2 geological mapping and sampling program delivered exceptionally high-grade assays, with approximately one in four samples, seven out of 29, exceeding one per cent tungsten trioxide.
Highlighting the results was sample HOLA039, which returned a massive 15.69 per cent tungsten, alongside HOLA036 at 7.76 per cent tungsten.
The sampling expanded into previously untested ground beyond the Phase 1 footprint, confirming that tungsten mineralisation as scheelite and wolframite extends across multiple discrete sites in a broader corridor rather than an isolated pocket.
Stelar Metals Executive Chairman Stephen Biggins said: “These are the results every explorer hopes for and very few see.
“Fifteen per cent tungsten at surface, backed up by a further six samples above 1 per cent, tells us Hill of Leaders is a high-grade tungsten system of genuine substance.”
The results come at a time of severe global supply constraints. China continues to enforce export controls on tungsten, while the US Department of War prohibition on Chinese-sourced supply takes effect on January 1, 2027, pushing Ammonium Paratungstate (APT) pricing to historic highs.
Stelar is now finalising drill targets for a maiden 3,000-metre Reverse Circulation (RC) bedrock drilling program scheduled to begin in late August or early September.
The company will also roll out regional geochemical sampling across the broader 450-square-kilometre exploration licence to test for further high-grade targets.
“Our job is to move fast and prove up the potential scale of what we have found at Hill of Leaders,” Biggins said.
“With our maiden RC bedrock drilling and regional geochemical programs commencing soon, Stelar is entering an exciting phase of pre-discovery exploration with potential for a genuine first-mover tungsten discovery.”
