- 01Webbs: 4m at 2,089g/t Ag from 24m; peak 6,060g/t.
- 02Mineralisation extends 117m north, 300m south; open.
- 03Soils flag 200m north and 600m NW targets.
Rapid Critical Metals (ASX: RCM) has intercepted exceptionally high-grade silver close to surface at its Webbs silver project in northern New South Wales, adding momentum to an expanding drilling campaign.
The standout result delivered four metres grading 2,089 grams per tonne silver from 24m downhole, including 2m at 3,950g/t silver and another 1m sample that returned 6,060g/t silver, the highest individual silver grade recorded in Rapid’s drilling to date.
This 4m interval equated to 2,334g/t silver equivalent, with the higher-grade 2m portion reaching 4,353g/t silver equivalent after allowing for associated metals.
Its headline silver grade is more than two-and-a-half times the average grade of ore historically mined at Webbs between 1884 and 1901.
Further drilling has extended mineralisation beyond the existing resource outline to the north and south, while new soil anomalies point to additional exploration targets.
High Grades and Substantial Widths
Across the broader program, ten individual 1m samples from six holes exceeded 1,000g/t silver equivalent, demonstrating that elevated grades are not confined to one intersection.
Importantly, a separate intercept returned 53m at 147g/t silver (217g/t silver equivalent) from 127m, including a stronger 18m interval grading 390g/t silver.
Another hole delivered 27m at 137g/t silver equivalent from 20m, supporting Rapid’s interpretation of a mineralised corridor containing stacked or parallel lodes rather than a single narrow structure.
“The soils say there is more to come: 200m of anomaly beyond our northern drilling, about 600m of untested strike to the north-west, and a new soil target at Stormer,” managing director Byron Miles said.
“This is shaping up as a silver district, not just a deposit, and the news flow is only getting started.”
Footprint Extends Both Ways
Drilling has now intersected mineralisation 117m north of the Webbs resource outline, complementing the 300m southern extension established in August.
The northern step-out returned 5m at 237g/t silver from 93m, equivalent to 326g/t silver equivalent, including 2m grading 567g/t silver.
Both ends of the mineralised trend remain open, although additional drilling is required to establish continuity and the eventual scale of any resource expansion.
All reported drill intercepts represent downhole lengths rather than true widths, which Rapid estimates at approximately 60% of the downhole measurements in most cases.
New Soil Anomalies
Soil sampling has identified anomalous silver extending at least 200m north of the northern drilling and a previously unrecognised north-west-trending structure with approximately 600m of untested strike.
The north-west target produced a soil silver response comparable with that over the known Webbs resource, although the anomaly has not been drilled and mineralisation is not assured.
At the Stormer prospect about three kilometres south-west of Webbs, four soil samples returned between 1.64 and 2.91 parts per million silver along an open-ended north-east-trending anomaly.
Rapid has lodged an application for an initial 650m drilling program around Stormer and other nearby anomalies, while excluding soil results affected by historical mining contamination from its bedrock interpretations.
Additional Rig Inbound
Three rigs are currently operating across Webbs and Webbs Consols, with a fourth scheduled to arrive this week to lift the program to two rigs at each project.
Rapid has secured exploration licence EL9950 immediately south of Webbs Consols, covering the projected continuation of structures it considers prospective for mineralisation.
With drilling approaching the previously approved 15,000m, the explorer is preparing further applications to extend drilling at Webbs and investigate targets identified by soil sampling.
Pending assays and ongoing drilling will feed into revised geological and resource models ahead of a planned mineral resource estimate update and scoping study.
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