Diablo Resources Secures Full Horn Silver Tenure Ahead of 2026 Utah Drill Push
Key Takeaways
- Diablo Resources has exercised its option over 101 patented claims at the Horn Silver Project, consolidating the full 202-claim, 13.2km² tenure under a single coordinated exploration strategy through its 80%-owned subsidiary Antler Resources Limited.
- The historic Horn Silver Mine at the core of the project carries a production record of approximately 17 million ounces of silver at 604 g/t Ag and around 30,000 oz of gold — establishing a high-grade benchmark for the system being explored.
- First-pass reconnaissance sampling has returned standout results including 4,190 g/t Ag at Buckhorn, up to 1,730 g/t Ag and 7.57 g/t Au at Washington, and up to 6.99% Cu at Accrington, confirming a broad polymetallic footprint across multiple prospects.
- All principal commodities targeted at Horn Silver — silver, copper, antimony, lead and zinc — appear on the US 2025 Critical Minerals List, with Executive Order 14415 (July 2026) further strengthening the policy environment for domestic supply development.
- Maiden drilling is already underway at the adjacent Star Range Project 15km away, with a maiden 2026 drill programme at Horn Silver now in planning, giving Diablo two active catalysts across a single Utah jurisdiction.
Option exercised, exploration begins at historic Utah silver project
Diablo Resources (ASX: DBO) has formally exercised the exclusive option over 101 patented claims forming the core of the Horn Silver Project in Beaver County, Utah, through its 80%-owned subsidiary Antler Resources Limited. The exercise completes the consolidation of the broader project tenure, bringing 202 patented and unpatented claims across 13.2km² under a coordinated exploration strategy.
The patented claims include the historic Horn Silver Mine, which carries a historical production record of approximately 17 million ounces of silver at 604 g/t Ag and around 30,000 oz of gold. With full tenure now consolidated, the company has confirmed that exploration will commence immediately.
Investors now have a single, unified landholding across the entire district-scale system, supporting both exploration and permitting planning without tenure gaps.
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A high-grade target pipeline ready to drill
The consolidated tenure gives Diablo access to a pipeline of near-mine and regional targets across the Horn Silver Project. Priority targets identified across the project include:
- Horn Silver Mine Extensions — strong IP anomalies interpreted beneath and adjacent to the historic mine, coinciding with interpreted extensions of the known mineralised system
- Horn South — shallow Au-Ag near-mine target on the periphery of the historic Horn Silver Mine
- Gossan Target — previously untested IP anomaly situated within a prospective geological and structural setting
- Buckhorn — historical workings and prospective structural trends reinforced by recent high-grade surface sampling
- Imperial — copper-skarn target approximately 2km northwest of the historic mine, remaining incompletely tested
- Regional Cu-Ag skarn prospects — targets associated with intrusive contacts that broaden the exploration opportunity beyond the immediate mine area
Recent first-pass reconnaissance sampling across the unpatented claims has confirmed a broad, district-scale polymetallic footprint. Sampling targeted historical workings, outcrop and float to verify legacy results, trace extensions to known anomalies, and identify previously unrecognised mineralised zones. The results below are from that program:
| Prospect | Sample Result (Ag g/t) | Au (g/t) | Cu (%) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buckhorn | 4,190 g/t Ag | 1.40 g/t Au | 2.41% Cu | Single high-grade sample |
| Accrington | 985 g/t Ag / 861 g/t Ag | — | 6.99% Cu / 4.16% Cu | Two samples reported |
| Washington | 1,730 g/t Ag / 1,475 g/t Ag / 1,045 g/t Ag | 5.74 g/t Au / 7.57 g/t Au / 3.51 g/t Au | 3.37% Cu (second sample); 0.12% Sb (third sample) | Three samples; third sample contains antimony |
| Michigan | 199 g/t Ag (first sample); 793 g/t Ag (third sample) | 18.05 g/t Au / 6.23 g/t Au / 2.78 g/t Au | 2.07% Cu (first sample); 2.14% Cu (second sample) | Three samples reported |
The results span multiple prospects across the project area, confirming that the mineralised system is not confined to a single anomaly. High-grade silver, gold, copper, lead and zinc values have now been identified at Buckhorn, Washington, Michigan and Accrington, highlighting the scale and diversity of the broader polymetallic system.
CEO commentary
Lyle Thorne, Chief Executive Officer
“Exercising the option over the patented claims marks a major milestone for Diablo and provides a clear pathway to advance systematic exploration across the broader Horn Silver Project. The Horn Silver Project combines a historically high-grade silver mine and multiple nearmine and regional exploration targets across a large interpreted polymetallic system that has seen limited recent systematic exploration. The recent high-grade rock sampling results have added further depth to that target pipeline and will help guide our next phase of work. At the same time, maiden drilling is now underway at North Star within our nearby Star Range Project. With Horn Silver and Star Range located approximately 15 km apart, we are building a concentrated critical-minerals exploration position in Utah and can pursue a coordinated strategy across both projects. Our focus is now on systematically ranking and testing the highest priority targets across Horn Silver while progressing drilling at Star Range, providing multiple opportunities for exploration success across our Utah portfolio.”
Why US critical minerals policy matters for Horn Silver
The term “critical minerals” has a specific meaning in US policy. The United States Geological Survey maintains an official list of minerals deemed essential to national security and economic welfare, where supply chain disruption would have significant consequences. Being on that list supports supply chain mapping and the accelerated testing and qualification of new sources and materials used in defence production.
Silver and copper were added to the United States’ final 2025 List of Critical Minerals. Antimony, lead and zinc are also included on the list. That means all of the principal commodities targeted across Diablo’s Utah portfolio carry this critical minerals designation.
The policy settings were strengthened further in July 2026, when the United States issued Executive Order 14415, titled “Securing America’s Defence Supply Chains and Ensuring Domestic Acquisition of Critical Minerals.” The order includes measures relating to critical material supply chain mapping and the accelerated testing and qualification of new sources and materials used in defence production.
For investors in an ASX-listed explorer, the practical implication is this: projects targeting US critical minerals in stable jurisdictions like Utah are operating in an environment where policy is actively working to fast-track new domestic supply. That context shapes the commercial landscape for potential offtake and strategic interest as the project advances.
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What comes next across Diablo’s Utah portfolio
Following the option exercise, Diablo has outlined the following near-term work programme:
- Regional mapping, sampling and structural interpretation across priority corridors including Buckhorn, Washington, Accrington, Imperial and Michigan
- Integration and reinterpretation of historical geophysical, geochemical and geological datasets to refine and rank near-mine and regional targets
- Further definition of priority targets around the historic Horn Silver Mine, including interpreted extensions to the known mineralised system and the Gossan IP anomaly
- Definition and prioritisation of a pipeline of polymetallic drill targets, with particular focus on high-grade structural corridors identified in recent sampling
- Prepare for the maiden 2026 drill programme, including drill hole planning, permitting, contractor engagement and logistical mobilisation
- Continued advancement of the North Star maiden drilling programme at Star Range, approximately 15km from Horn Silver, with results to inform geological interpretation and follow-up exploration
The Star Range results add further momentum to Diablo’s Utah portfolio, with high-grade silver-antimony intercepts at the adjacent project reinforcing the prospectivity of the broader critical-minerals corridor the company is systematically building out.
With Horn Silver exploration advancing in parallel with active drilling at Star Range, Diablo is building a concentrated critical-minerals footprint across a single US jurisdiction. Both projects target commodities on the US critical minerals list, and both sit within a coordinated Utah strategy that management is now positioned to execute across a fully consolidated tenure.
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