Iltani Resources Hits 1,237 g/t Silver Eq Outside Current Resource in Link Zone
Key Takeaways
- ORR190 returned a 2m core interval at 1,237 g/t Ag Eq. (531 g/t Ag, 112 g/t In, 10.3% Pb & 5.7% Zn) from 144m, exceeding Iltani's own >1,000 g/t Ag Eq. threshold for exceptional mineralisation.
- Every Link Zone intercept from the current program sits outside the existing Orient JORC MRE of 62.5 Mt @ 81.5 g/t Ag Eq. (163.8 Moz Ag Eq.), meaning none of this high-grade material is yet captured in the resource base.
- Iltani has now defined Link Zone mineralisation over 240m of strike to 145m depth, with more than 400m of additional strike extent remaining untested.
- The Orient MRE update — incorporating both Orient East and Orient West — is targeted for Q4 CY2026, once all assays from the 110-hole program are received.
- A Scoping Study is targeted for early 2027, with follow-up Link Zone drilling planned to commence before the 2026 wet season.
Link Zone drilling confirms high-grade silver-indium mineralisation beyond current resource boundary
Iltani Resources (ASX: ILT) has released new assay results from the ongoing 110-hole RC drilling program at its Orient Silver-Indium Project in North Queensland, with the Link Zone — the corridor connecting Orient East and Orient West — delivering multiple high-grade intercepts of silver-lead-zinc-indium mineralisation.
The standout result comes from ORR190, which returned 13m @ 334 g/t Ag Eq. from 141m, including a high-grade core of 2m @ 1,237 g/t Ag Eq. (531 g/t Ag, 112 g/t In, 10.3% Pb & 5.7% Zn) from 144m. That core interval exceeds the >1,000 gm/t Ag and >1,000 gm/t Ag Eq. threshold — a benchmark the company uses to identify exceptional mineralisation.
Critically, every Link Zone intercept sits outside the current Orient Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE). That means these results carry direct potential to increase the resource base when the MRE update is completed, currently targeted for Q4 CY2026.
When big ASX news breaks, our subscribers know first
New intercepts at a glance — ORR190, ORR192 and ORR196
The three holes returning material results from the latest batch of assays are summarised below.
| Drill Hole | From (m) | Intersection | Headline Grade (Ag Eq. g/t) | Best Sub-interval |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORR190 | 141m | 13m | 334 g/t Ag Eq. | 2m @ 1,237 g/t Ag Eq. from 144m |
| ORR192 | 70m | 18m | 123 g/t Ag Eq. | 1m @ 548 g/t Ag Eq. from 76m |
| ORR196 | 155m | 3m | 220 g/t Ag Eq. | 1m @ 402 g/t Ag Eq. from 156m |
The best sub-intervals from each hole, sourced directly from Table 1 in the announcement:
- ORR190: 2m @ 1,237 g/t Ag Eq. (531 g/t Ag, 112 g/t In, 10.3% Pb & 5.7% Zn) from 144m, with a 1m @ 1,591 g/t Ag Eq. peak at 145m.
- ORR192: 1m @ 548 g/t Ag Eq. (179 g/t Ag, 33 g/t In, 3.5% Pb & 4.5% Zn) from 76m.
- ORR196: 1m @ 402 g/t Ag Eq. (149 g/t Ag, 29 g/t In, 3.4% Pb & 2.4% Zn) from 156m.
A fourth hole, ORR194, returned only low-grade mineralisation and is not considered a material result.
How these results build on the 2025 Link Zone programme
The new results extend a pattern of high-grade Link Zone hits that Iltani established at the end of 2025, when holes ORR136, ORR138, ORR139, and ORR140 were completed.
ORR136 and ORR138 both delivered intercepts exceeding the >1,000 gm/t Ag and >1,000 gm/t Ag Eq. thresholds. ORR138’s best interval — 1m @ 1,372 g/t Ag Eq. (437 g/t Ag, 265 g/t In, 8.1% Pb & 10.4% Zn) from 110m — demonstrates the same style of ultra-high-grade polymetallic mineralisation now confirmed again in ORR190.
Taken together, multiple holes across both the 2025 and 2026 campaigns are now returning consistent high-grade hits across the Link Zone, building a case for structural continuity of the mineralised system between Orient East and Orient West.
The Orient West discovery confirmed the western extent of the mineralised system and set the structural context for the Link Zone corridor that now connects the two deposits, making the current high-grade Link Zone intercepts a logical extension of that earlier work.
Donald Garner, Managing Director
“More excellent drilling results from our current 110-hole drilling program at Orient, with ORR190, ORR192 & ORR196 intercepting high grade silver-lead-zinc-mineralisation in the Link Zone, notably, ORR190, which delivered an intercept of >1,000 silver grade metres (gm/t Ag) & >1,000 silver equivalent grade metres (gm/t Ag Eq.).”
“All the Link Zone drilling sits outside the current Orient Mineral Resource, and we have now defined Link Zone mineralisation over 240m strike to 145m depth (from surface), with an additional 400m+ of strike extent remaining to be tested.”
Garner added that the company is already planning follow-up drilling to target and extend the Link Zone mineralisation, with drilling expected to be underway before the wet season at the end of 2026.
Why silver-indium mineralisation matters — and what it means at Orient
When a deposit contains multiple metals, geologists use a silver equivalent grade (expressed as g/t Ag Eq.) to combine the value of all metals into a single comparable figure. It converts lead, zinc, and indium into their silver-equivalent value using commodity prices and assumed recoveries, making it easier to compare polymetallic deposits on a like-for-like basis.
Indium is a critical mineral — a metal classified as strategically important because of concentrated supply chains and growing demand in high-technology applications. It is a key component of indium tin oxide, the transparent conductor used in touch screens, and indium phosphide (InP), which is used to manufacture the laser chips powering high-speed optical transceivers in AI data centres. That demand profile is expanding rapidly as data infrastructure investment accelerates globally.
Orient already hosts what the company describes as Australia’s largest and highest grade known silver-indium deposit, carrying a JORC MRE of 62.5 Mt @ 81.5 g/t Ag Eq. (23 g/t Ag, 12 g/t In, 0.6% Pb & 0.7% Zn), with total contained metal of 163.8 Moz Ag Eq.
The maiden JORC resource established a starting point of 21.6Mt before subsequent drilling at Orient East and Orient West progressively expanded the deposit to its current 62.5Mt scale, underscoring how rapidly the resource base has grown across successive campaigns.
The metal mix at Orient is commercially compelling for several reasons:
- Silver provides primary precious metal value and exposure to monetary and industrial demand.
- Indium is a critical mineral with growing demand in AI infrastructure and consumer electronics, with limited global supply.
- Lead recovers to a saleable lead-silver concentrate, adding payable by-product value.
- Zinc recovers to a zinc-indium concentrate, capturing further critical mineral upside alongside the indium stream.
The next major ASX story will hit our subscribers first
Resource update and scoping study — what comes next
The current drilling program is close to completion, and a defined sequence of milestones follows from here. The key steps, as disclosed in the announcement:
- Drilling program (110 holes): The track-mounted RC rig is currently on ORR237, the 97th hole, with program completion expected in September 2026 (within 2–3 weeks of the announcement date of 4 September 2026).
- Remaining assays: Samples are submitted to Intertek Townsville every 2–3 days, with a current turnaround time of approximately 1–2 months.
- Orient Mineral Resource update (West + East): Targeted for Q4 CY2026, once all assay results are received.
- Follow-up Link Zone drilling: Planned to commence before the onset of the 2026 wet season, targeting and extending the mineralisation intersected to date.
- Orient Scoping Study: Targeted for completion in early 2027, using the updated MRE as its foundation.
The investment significance of the Link Zone results sits squarely in step three. Because all Link Zone intercepts are currently outside the MRE boundary, the Q4 CY2026 resource update has the potential to materially expand the resource base — that expansion is not yet captured in the existing 163.8 Moz Ag Eq. figure.
The company also notes that over 400m of Link Zone strike extent remains untested by drilling, leaving the system open along strike beyond the 240m currently defined to 145m depth. Further follow-up drilling is planned, and the program may be extended based on assay results once the initial 110-hole campaign is complete.
Ready to Explore the Orient Silver-Indium Project’s Expanding Resource Potential?
Iltani Resources’ Link Zone drilling is delivering high-grade silver-indium intercepts — including a standout 2m @ 1,237 g/t Ag Eq. — entirely outside the current JORC resource boundary, setting the stage for a potentially material resource expansion in Q4 CY2026.
With over 400m of untested strike extent remaining and a Scoping Study targeted for early 2027, the Orient Project’s growth trajectory is still unfolding — explore Iltani Resources’ full project details and latest announcements to assess the investment case for yourself.