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(Sharecast News) - Guardian Metal Resources said on Friday that it has made further progress towards development of its Pilot Mountain tungsten project in Nevada after submitting a maiden S-K 1300 Technical Summary Report to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, alongside an updated, pit-constrained mineral resource estimate that supports a potential open-pit mining pathway.
The AIM-traded company said the updated resource estimate, prepared in accordance with US regulatory standards, showed a 16% increase in open-pit constrained Indicated Mineral Resources compared with the estimate underpinning the 2018 scoping study.
It said the report would underpin its planned US stock market listing and formed a key input into the ongoing pre-feasibility study.
The updated mineral resource at the Desert Scheelite deposit, one of four known near-surface tungsten zones at Pilot Mountain, applied a 0.06% tungsten trioxide cut-off grade and incorporated favourable historical metallurgical recoveries.
Indicated resources now stood at 8.69m tonnes grading 0.206% tungsten trioxide, containing 17,900 tonnes of tungsten trioxide, with a further 1.78m tonnes of inferred resources grading 0.169% tungsten trioxide.
Guardian Metal said the resource was expected to grow further as results from ongoing drilling were incorporated into future updates.
Chief executive Oliver Friesen said the company was making strong progress towards completing the pre-feasibility study, supported by a $6.2m investment from the US Department of Defense under the Defense Production Act.
"The inaugural pit-constrained mineral resource for Desert Scheelite, prepared in accordance with S-K 1300, represents the culmination of over 12 months of diligent drilling completed by our in-country Nevada-based operations team," he said.
"This resource, which includes a 16% increase in pit constrained Indicated tonnage, establishes a solid foundation for future resource growth, and, more importantly, represents an important step in supporting a potential US listing."
Friesen added that drilling remained under way at Desert Scheelite, with a second rig scheduled to mobilise early in the new year to expand drilling across the project, including at the Garnet Zone.
"Results from this work are expected to be incorporated into a future MRE update, which will underpin the progressing PFS," he said, adding that the company remains focused on delivering a domestically mined source of tungsten in the US.
Guardian Metal said preparation of the pre-feasibility study was advancing, with mine planning, metallurgical testing, infrastructure studies, hydrogeological drilling and environmental baseline work all under way.
"The outcomes of these workstreams will be integrated into a comprehensive development plan, which will form the basis of the project's mine plan of operations and underpin the permitting pathway and subsequent mine development activities," commented operations manager Marc Leduc.
The company said it expected to complete the pre-feasibility study by the end of the first half of 2026, with mine permit applications to follow, and was still targeting initial commercial production at Pilot Mountain before the end of 2028.
At 1601 GMT, shares in Guardian Metal Resources were up 9.17% at 119p.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.