Iltani Resources Strikes High-Grade Silver-Indium at Orient Project Herberton

Iltani Resources Orient Silver-Indium Project Drilling Results in Herberton Queensland

Iltani Resources (ASX: ILT) has released the first batch of assay results from its resumed 2026 drilling campaign at the Orient Silver-Indium Project in Herberton, North Queensland — and the numbers are turning heads. The Iltani Resources Orient Silver-Indium Project drilling results in Herberton Queensland confirm broad zones of mineralisation alongside spectacular high-grade silver-indium massive sulphide veins, with peak intercepts reaching 1m @ 207 g/t Ag, 626 g/t In, 1.6% Pb & 11.1% Zn in ORR142 and 1m @ 279 g/t Ag, 523 g/t In, 4.2% Pb & 9.4% Zn in ORR147.

These are the opening results from a planned 110-hole program, with 37 holes (6,853m) already completed and samples flowing to the lab every two to three days. With more than a month of drilling still ahead and assays pending across multiple sections, the pipeline of upcoming results is substantial.

Peak Intercepts at a Glance

What Makes Orient West Exceptional? Understanding the Mineralisation

For investors less familiar with the technical language of exploration, it helps to understand what the drilling is actually finding and why it matters.

Massive sulphide veins are concentrated bodies of metal-bearing minerals — in this case, silver-rich galena (a lead sulphide mineral) and indium-rich sphalerite (a zinc sulphide mineral) — that form in tight, high-grade zones within a broader, lower-grade system. They are often the economic heart of a deposit.

At Orient West, these high-grade veins sit within a surrounding envelope of broader mineralisation, meaning the deposit offers both bulk-tonnage open pit potential and the prospect of selective high-grade underground mining from the vein cores.

The silver equivalent (Ag Eq.) figure used throughout Iltani's reporting captures the combined value of all four payable metals — silver, lead, zinc, and indium — expressed as a single silver-equivalent grade. The formula applied is:

Ag Eq. = Ag + (Pb × 35.5) + (Zn × 50.2) + (In × 0.47)

This is calculated using assumed commodity prices and recoveries of 87% for silver, 90% for lead, 85% for zinc, and 85% for indium. The result is a useful shorthand for comparing total mineralised value across intercepts, particularly useful when a deposit contains multiple payable metals.

Indium deserves special mention. It is a rare, critical metal used in flat panel displays, touchscreens, solar cells, and semiconductors. Global supply is tightly controlled, predominantly as a byproduct of zinc smelting, making high-grade indium occurrences like Orient genuinely rare. Furthermore, grades in excess of 500 g/t In in individual samples — as seen repeatedly in this release — are exceptional by any global standard.

Drilling Results Section by Section

Orient West Section 20 — ORR141 to ORR143

The three holes completed on Section 20 achieved multiple objectives simultaneously.

ORR141 delivered one of the release's standout broad intercepts: 42m @ 52 g/t Ag, 19 g/t In, 1.0% Pb & 1.0% Zn from just 26m depth, including a high-grade core of 2m @ 285 g/t Ag, 64 g/t In, 4.6% Pb & 1.9% Zn from 54m. Importantly, this confirms that high-grade mineralisation extends close to surface, reinforcing the open pit economics of the deposit.

ORR142 and ORR143 successfully infilled a 140-metre gap between two previously drilled holes (ORR010 and ORR069), linking shallow and deep mineralisation and demonstrating strong continuity. Both holes intercepted shallow mineralisation consistent with adjacent drilling, while also returning significant indium-rich zones at depth:

• ORR142: 4m @ 91 g/t Ag, 280 g/t In, 1.1% Pb & 5.1% Zn from 133m, including 1m @ 207 g/t Ag, 626 g/t In, 1.6% Pb & 11.1% Zn
• ORR143: 38m @ 19 g/t Ag, 22 g/t In from 152m, including a high-grade vein of 2m @ 150 g/t Ag, 279 g/t In

These results correlate strongly with an exceptionally indium-rich zone previously intersected in nearby hole ORR069, which returned 1m @ 126 g/t Ag, 1,272 g/t In — among the highest indium grades reported from any deposit in Australia.

Orient West Section 22 — ORR144 to ORR146

Results from Section 22 demonstrated consistent mineralisation across three holes, with the standout being ORR144's remarkable 100m @ 14 g/t Ag, 18 g/t In from surface — a broad, shallow intercept that underscores the scale and continuity of the near-surface resource. Within that interval, a higher-grade zone of 3m @ 87 g/t Ag, 259 g/t In from 79m was recorded.

ORR146 returned an eye-catching single-metre result of 1m @ 184 g/t Ag, 485 g/t In, 1.35% Pb & 8.15% Zn, representing an Ag Eq. grade of 870 g/t — a stark illustration of the vein core quality.

Across the section, the results from Vein 1 (the deeper, lower zone of mineralisation) are consistent with adjacent sections, providing confidence that this high-grade structural feature is a persistent and defining element of Orient West's geometry.

Orient West Section 24 — ORR147

ORR147 delivered the program's highest peak grade in this release: 1m @ 279 g/t Ag, 523 g/t In, 4.2% Pb & 9.4% Zn from 35m, equating to an Ag Eq. of 1,149 g/t. The broader intercept around this was 16m @ 45 g/t Ag, 95 g/t In from 32m, with a 3m high-grade core at 175 g/t Ag, 435 g/t In.

A second mineralised zone at depth — 11m @ 59 g/t Ag, 17 g/t In from 135m, including 2m @ 187 g/t Ag, 33 g/t In — confirms multi-level mineralisation across the section. Three companion holes (ORR148–150) on Section 24 are awaiting assay, meaning the full picture for this section remains to come.

The Bigger Picture: Orient Project Resource and Exploration Target

The drilling program is designed to upgrade the existing JORC Resource and increase confidence in the deposit geometry. The current Orient Project Mineral Resource Estimate stands at:

Beyond the existing resource, a material Exploration Target of 15.4 to 18.8 Mt @ 95–117 g/t Ag Eq. remains to be converted through further drilling. The potential quantity and grade of this Exploration Target is conceptual in nature, and it is uncertain whether further exploration will result in the estimation of a Mineral Resource.

Taken together, the total mineralisation picture at Orient — existing resource plus exploration target — represents a genuinely substantial silver-indium system that Iltani is systematically working to define and expand.

What Happens Next — A Catalyst-Rich Period Ahead

The next one to two months represent a particularly active period for Iltani, with multiple work streams running simultaneously:

1. Infill drilling continues at Orient West — completing the High-Grade Core area to 50m section spacing to support resource category upgrades
2. Extension drilling has commenced — targeting northeast and southwest extensions of Orient West, where 900m of strike extent of known mineralisation based on historical workings and outcrop sampling has not yet been comprehensively drill tested
3. Infill drilling has commenced at Orient East — a parallel work stream now underway with two RC rigs on site
4. Link Zone drilling planned — to test the gap between Orient East and Orient West, a key gap in the current resource understanding
5. Vein 1, Orient North and VTEM targets — further holes planned once the Orient East infill program is complete
6. Regional targets to be tested — including Boonmoo Epithermal and Union Jack, with one rig expected to commence regional testing near the end of the Orient program
7. Continuous assay flow — samples submitted every two to three days, with results expected to flow regularly through coming months

Why Orient Is a Project Worth Following

"The results continue to demonstrate that Orient is Australia's largest known silver-indium deposit and has the potential to become one of the largest producers of silver and indium rich concentrates globally."
— Donald Garner, Managing Director, Iltani Resources

Several features of the Orient project combine to make it an unusual opportunity in the Australian exploration space:

• Scale: At 34.2 Mt @ 110.4 g/t Ag Eq., Orient is already the largest known silver-indium deposit in Australia — and the resource is still open in multiple directions
• Depth: The deposit sits within a large-scale epithermal system extending over at least 6km², with high-grade sulphide veins surrounded by extensive lower-grade zones up to 100m thick
• Critical mineral exposure: Indium is a critical technology metal with limited global supply and no primary mine production — it is recovered almost exclusively as a byproduct of zinc smelting, making Orient's indium grades among the highest known anywhere
• Open pit potential: Broad, shallow intercepts like ORR141's 42m from 26m and ORR144's 100m from surface reinforce the case for an open pittable resource, which generally carries favourable economics relative to underground-only deposits
• Underground upside: High-grade vein cores — including the indium-rich Vein 2 system — represent a separate, high-value underground mining opportunity that adds further optionality to the project's economics
• Metallurgical credibility: Historical test work (reported to ASX in November 2023) has already demonstrated that silver, indium, lead and zinc are recoverable to payable lead-silver and zinc-indium-silver concentrates
• Active, well-resourced program: Two RC rigs on site, continuous sample submissions, and a 110-hole program already 37 holes deep — this is not speculative early-stage work; it is systematic resource definition at scale

A Glossary for Investors New to the Space

RC Drilling (Reverse Circulation): A drilling method where rock chips are returned to surface through the drill rods using compressed air, allowing fast, cost-effective sampling.

g/t (grams per tonne): The standard measure of precious and critical metal grades. Higher values indicate higher concentration of metal in the rock.

Ag Eq. (Silver Equivalent): A combined grade figure that converts all payable metals into a silver-equivalent value using commodity prices and metallurgical recovery assumptions, allowing direct comparison of total value across intervals.

JORC Resource: A mineral resource estimate prepared in accordance with the 2012 JORC Code — the Australian standard for reporting mineral resources. Categories of Inferred (lower confidence) and Indicated (higher confidence) reflect the level of geological certainty behind the estimate.

Exploration Target: A conceptual estimate of mineralisation that has not yet been converted to a JORC Resource due to insufficient drilling. It is presented as a range and indicates where further drilling may define additional resources.

Massive Sulphide Vein: A concentrated body of sulphide minerals (such as galena and sphalerite) carrying high grades of metal, typically forming the economic core of a vein-hosted deposit.

Epithermal System: A type of mineral deposit formed at shallow depths in the earth's crust by hot fluids, typically associated with volcanic activity. Silver-gold epithermal systems can be very large and high-grade.

Indium: A rare, soft metal used in flat panel displays, touchscreens, semiconductors, and photovoltaics. Global supply is tightly constrained, making high-grade deposits extremely scarce.

Iltani Resources has positioned itself as the custodian of Australia's largest known silver-indium deposit, with the first results from its 110-hole 2026 drilling program confirming outstanding grades, broad mineralised widths, and exceptional indium concentrations. The Iltani Resources Orient Silver-Indium Project drilling results in Herberton Queensland continue to impress, and with two rigs turning, samples flowing weekly, and a string of pending assays across multiple sections and targets, the coming months are set to deliver a sustained stream of news flow from one of the country's most distinctive critical minerals exploration stories.

Want to Learn More About Iltani Resources and the Orient Silver-Indium Project?

With Australia's largest known silver-indium deposit already at 34.2 Mt, two RC rigs turning, and a 110-hole drilling program generating a continuous stream of high-grade results, Iltani Resources (ASX: ILT) represents one of the most active and compelling critical minerals stories on the ASX right now. To explore the Orient Project in more detail, review the company's latest announcements, and assess the investment case for yourself, visit the official Iltani Resources website at iltaniresources.com.au.