Investigator Silver Hits 13,302g/t Ag Outside DFS Pit Signalling Reserve Upside
Key Takeaways
- The standout intercept from the 2026 RC programme — 4m @ 5,448g/t Ag from 78m, including 1m @ 13,302g/t Ag — sits entirely outside the existing DFS pit optimisation boundary, meaning it carries direct potential to grow the 33Moz Ore Reserve.
- Paris North was last assessed roughly 10 years ago under a materially lower silver price; the new 2m @ 4,211g/t Ag intercept and a 9m @ 110g/t Ag interval confirm the area is now economically relevant and underexplored at current prices.
- A new epithermal silver prospect named Theseus has been identified 7.5km southeast of Paris, discovered by re-logging a 2007 uranium drill core that was never sampled — the hole terminated at 57.6m while still in mineralisation, leaving the system completely open at depth.
- A ~30,000m follow-up drill programme is scheduled to commence in September 2026, with assays still outstanding from Paris West, Manto, and Helen — a sustained news flow catalyst is imminent.
- The Mining Lease Application has been lodged with the South Australian Department for Energy and Mining, advancing Paris toward development readiness alongside active near-mine exploration.
High-grade silver hits outside the DFS pit signal meaningful inventory growth potential
Investigator Silver (ASX: IVR) has released initial 2026 RC drilling results from the 100%-owned Paris Silver Project in South Australia, with multiple high-grade intercepts recorded outside the existing DFS pit optimisation boundary. The standout result: 4m @ 5,448g/t Ag from 78m* in PPRC968, including 1m @ 13,302g/t Ag from 80m at Paris East. These results matter because they follow the company’s DFS and Maiden Ore Reserve confirmation in February 2026 — any silver inventory that sits beyond that baseline carries direct commercial weight.
Additional headline intercepts include 2m @ 4,211g/t Ag from 111m in PPRC957 (including 1m @ 8,120g/t Ag from 112m) at Paris North, and 9m @ 110g/t Ag from 81m* in PPRC948, also at Paris North. Drilling commenced in March 2026, with a further approximately 30,000m follow-up program scheduled to begin in September 2026.
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Key results across Paris East, Paris North, and Paris Deeps
Three sub-areas have returned results to date. Paris West assays remain outstanding.
Paris East — shallow high-grade confirms eastern extension
- 4m @ 5,448g/t Ag from 78m* (PPRC968), including 1m @ 13,302g/t Ag from 80m
- 2m @ 822g/t Ag from 49m* (PPRC965), including 1m @ 1,545g/t Ag from 50m*
- 3m @ 275g/t Ag from 91m (PPRC970)
Drilling confirmed the extension of argillic altered volcanic breccias east of the DFS pit. Several intercepts are marked with an asterisk, indicating adjacent assays remain pending — results may extend further once those are returned.
Paris North — previously low-priority area re-rated under current silver price
- 2m @ 4,211g/t Ag from 111m (PPRC957), including 1m @ 8,120g/t Ag from 112m
- 9m @ 110g/t Ag from 81m* (PPRC948)
- 8m @ 60g/t Ag from 9m (PPRC958), within the optimised open pit boundary
This area was last assessed approximately 10 years ago under a materially lower silver price environment. The high-grade result in PPRC957 and the broader interval in PPRC958 — which extended mineralisation a further 20m to the east within the DFS pit — illustrate the potential to add near-mine silver ounces at current prices.
Paris Deeps — mineralisation confirmed below the pit floor
- 6m @ 111g/t Ag from 256m (PPRC929)
- 2m @ 115g/t Ag from 251m and 1m @ 215g/t Ag from 266m (PPRC931)
- 6m @ 50g/t Ag from 175m (PPRC932)
Five inclined RC holes were drilled to test mineralised trends beneath the DFS pit outline. Results corroborated the geological interpretation at this locality.
Lachlan Wallace, Managing Director
“The high-grade results at Paris North and Paris East are an encouraging outcome from this phase of drilling. They reinforce the quality of the mineralised system around the existing Paris Deposit and provide clear opportunities for growth of the Paris silver inventory with appropriate follow-up drilling. The magnitude of a number of significant assays in this program outside of the existing pit optimisation demonstrates significant upside potential around the existing deposit and may increase the available mining inventory beyond the DFS which was released to the market on 27 February 2026.”
Theseus — a new silver-bearing epithermal system identified 7.5km from Paris
Approximately 7.5km southeast of Paris, Investigator has identified a new prospect named Theseus. The origin of this discovery is unusual: a diamond drillhole (07DHPL03) was drilled in 2007 by Mega Hindmarsh as part of a uranium exploration programme. The core was never cut or sampled at the time and was subsequently preserved at the South Australian Drill Core Library.
In 2026, Investigator re-logged and sampled the core for the first time. What geologists had noted as a single sulphide vein proved to be a large number of cross-cutting veins carrying fluorite, galena, and sphalerite infill. Extensive silica-sericite (phyllic) alteration assemblages consistent with epithermal Ag-Pb-Zn systems were recorded throughout.
Sampling returned multiple silver-bearing intervals:
- 1.85m @ 50g/t Ag from 22.15m
- 6.00m @ 14g/t Ag from 27.00m
- 1.20m @ 31g/t Ag from 14.80m
Base-metal anomalism is also present, including 2.7m @ 1.1% Zn, 0.3% Pb, 5g/t Ag from 42.60m. Critically, the hole terminated at 57.6m while still within the mineralised system — meaning the system remains open at depth and untested. No drilling has occurred in the broad vicinity of this hole.
Lachlan Wallace, Managing Director
“Theseus is an exciting regional result. The hole was drilled almost 20 years ago for uranium, not silver, and the core had never been sampled… reinforces our view of the prospectivity of the Paris exploration corridor and the potential to add significant value with discovery success.”
What is an epithermal silver system — and why does it matter for IVR investors?
Understanding the geological model behind both Paris and Theseus helps put the grade numbers in context.
Paris is already a confirmed intermediate-sulphidation epithermal silver deposit. Theseus now shows the same alteration fingerprints: intense phyllic alteration, fluorite, galena, and sphalerite veining in a rhyolitic volcanic setting. The geological “recipe” appears consistent across the Paris Silver Corridor.
This corridor concept is the key investment angle. Multiple targets along a shared structural and volcanic trend multiply the exploration optionality well beyond a single deposit. Theseus adds a genuine new discovery opportunity to a project that already has a confirmed DFS and Maiden Ore Reserve.
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Paris Silver Project fundamentals and what comes next
The existing resource and reserve provide the foundation against which any inventory growth from the 2026 drilling should be measured.
| Category | Mt | Ag g/t | Ag Moz | Pb Kt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mineral Resource — 25g/t Ag cut-off (2023) | ||||
| Indicated | 17 | 75 | 41 | 85 |
| Inferred | 7.2 | 67 | 16 | 14 |
| Total | 24 | 73 | 57 | 99 |
| Ore Reserve — variable cut-off by domain (2026) | ||||
| Probable | 12 | 88 | 33 | — |
| Total | 12 | 88 | 33 | — |
Note: Ore Reserve cut-off grades vary by geometallurgical domain (BT 28.5g/t, BTM 24g/t, DOL 23g/t). Totals may differ due to rounding. Pb not separately reported in the Ore Reserve. Source: ASX announcements dated 5 July 2023 and 27 February 2026.
With that baseline established, the near-term news flow is substantive. The key catalysts to watch:
- Approximately 30,000m follow-up drill programme commencing September 2026 at Paris — a material near-term catalyst for the stock.
- Infill and expansion drilling planned at Paris East and Paris North to support future resource estimation.
- Assays still outstanding from Paris West, Manto, and Helen — further updates expected as results are received.
- Mining Lease Application (MLA) lodged with the South Australian Department for Energy and Mining, advancing the project toward development readiness.
- Theseus follow-up drilling opportunity — no prior drilling in the broad vicinity of 07DHPL03, with the hole terminating in mineralisation.
The combination of MLA lodgement and DFS completion positions Investigator Silver as a silver development company with active near-mine exploration upside. The September drill programme brings with it a steady stream of news flow that will progressively define whether the inventory sitting outside the current DFS pit can meaningfully grow the project’s economic footprint.
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