Iltani Resources (ASX: ILT) managing director Donald Garner says encouraging Orient West drilling beyond the company’s 2025 resource footprint will feed into its next resource calculations.
Speaking with Small Caps host James Whelan on 28 September 2026, Garner outlined follow-up drilling, metallurgical test work and a scoping study targeted for early 2027.
Orient West drilling
Garner said the recent holes followed up OR137 and built on drilling in the Link Zone. The team is planning further step-outs, using drilling results and geological modelling to guide subsequent work. Resource growth and grade improvements remain expectations, pending the updated calculations.
Ore sorting and a processing hub
Iltani is assessing Orient as a standalone project, with smaller district deposits potentially adding value through a central processing hub. Garner said ore-sorting samples had reached TOMRA, with testing planned for 7 and 8 October before flotation test work at Core Metallurgy in Brisbane.
He described hypothetical ways that separating waste before processing could reduce plant throughput, capital requirements and tailings storage. These figures were illustrative scenarios, not completed study findings. Potential grade and recovery improvements remain subject to test work.
Upcoming work
Garner said assays from roughly 45 to 50 holes remained outstanding at the AST laboratory in Townsville. Resource updates for Orient West and Orient East, diamond drilling at Isabel and further RC drilling were among the planned milestones. The company was targeting a scoping study in early 2027, with fieldwork constrained by the approaching wet season.
The interview also covered the project’s silver and zinc exposure, with indium providing critical-mineral exposure. Commodity-price comments reflect the interview date.
Exploration results
Boonmoo drilling did not intersect anything material, Garner said. Union Jack intersected sulphides, primarily pyrrhotite and arsenopyrite, but not the sulphides sought. Further downhole work was planned to help guide follow-up exploration.
Plans, study timing and exploration outcomes remain subject to further work. This article summarises the interview and is prepared for editorial review.