Encounter Resources has reported its highest-grade niobium intersection yet at the Green deposit in Western Australia’s West Arunta region, with a 51m downhole interval grading 5.0 per cent niobium oxide (Nb2O5) from 63m.
The hit, from aircore hole EAL1513 at the Aileron project, lies wholly outside Green’s existing inferred mineral resource boundary on the deposit’s northern margin. It includes 13m at 10.4 per cent Nb2O5 from 80m and 6m at 9.1 per cent from 66m.
The result, Encounter said, points to room for the resource to grow, although further drilling and modelling are needed before the new mineralisation can be included in an updated estimate. The reported intervals are downhole lengths; their true width is not yet known.
Green currently hosts an inferred resource of 100 million tonnes (Mt) at 0.71 per cent Nb2O5, including a higher-grade 19Mt subset at 1.6 per cent.
Across Green, Emily and Crean, Aileron has an inferred resource of 120Mt at 0.77 per cent Nb2O5, including 26Mt at 1.7 per cent.
Encounter managing director Will Robinson said the drilling was strengthening the case for potential high-grade starter pits.
“Our expectation was that, as we closed the existing wide drill-spacing, we could intersect spectacular zones of high-grade mineralisation, which is exactly what is happening,” Robinson said.
“These results reinforce our confidence in the potential for high-grade starter pits that could underpin a Tier 1 operation at Aileron.”
The latest hole follows Green results reported in August, including 53m at 2.9 per cent Nb2O5 from 79m and 75m at 2.4 per cent from 43m, both extending to the end of their holes.
Encounter’s 2026 program is targeting infill and extensions to the four-kilometre-long deposit, where earlier resource drilling used lines roughly 200m apart.
The West Arunta project has been a stated priority for Encounter, considering the company’s return to full ownership of the Yeneena copper project in May 2025; Robinson described its niobium project as a core strategic priority.
Three rigs are now operating at Aileron, and Encounter expects further aircore results from Joyce and assays from the first Emily diamond hole in October, alongside more infill and extension drilling at Green. A regional aircore update is targeted for November.
Geotechnical and hydrogeological drilling, metallurgical testwork, environmental and heritage surveys, and project studies are also underway.
“There is a significant pipeline of results to come, and we have three rigs operating across Aileron, which ensures a steady flow of updates into 2027,” Robinson said.