Wildcat Resources Hits 25m at 1.2% Li₂O Ahead of Q3 2026 DFS

Wildcat Resources returned drilling intercepts of up to 25.1 metres at 1.2% Li₂O across three of its six Tabba Tabba pegmatites, with the data being incorporated into a Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) that management has confirmed is advancing to schedule for Q3 2026.

The project already sits on a 74.1 Mt resource at 1.0% Li₂O, approximately 94% of which is classified as Indicated, a confidence level that places Tabba Tabba among the more advanced undeveloped hard-rock lithium projects in Australia. The current drill programme is not building the resource from scratch. It is refining the mine scheduling and metallurgical inputs that will determine the project’s economics at concentrator scale.

Here is what the numbers tell you about where Tabba Tabba sits in its development arc, how the six-pegmatite structure gives Wildcat scheduling flexibility most single-deposit projects lack, and what the Q3 2026 DFS delivery represents as a project-advancement milestone.

Drilling returns thick intersections across three pegmatites

The programme delivered consistent width and grade across three distinct pegmatite bodies, each contributing a different piece to the project’s geological picture.

Hutt posted the widest intersection of the three bodies, logging 25.1 metres at 1.2% Li₂O. Leia, the largest single contributor to Tabba Tabba’s overall resource, recorded 18 metres at 1.3% Li₂O, with an internal 9-metre zone grading 2.0% Li₂O. Chewy registered the peak grade of the programme at 13.9 metres at 2.0% Li₂O, containing a notably elevated sub-interval within the sequence.

Chewy higher-grade zone: 7.8 metres downhole grading 2.3% Li₂O, the standout intersection from the current drill programme.

The six pegmatite bodies that make up Tabba Tabba are named Leia, Luke, Chewy, Tabba Tabba, Han, and Hutt. What these results across three of the six tell you is that mineralisation at this project is not concentrated in a single standout body carrying the rest. Width and grade are distributed across the system, which reinforces the 74.1 Mt at 1.0% Li₂O resource estimate rather than extending it into untested ground.

That distinction matters for how you interpret the risk profile entering a DFS. Resource confidence is being confirmed, not built.

Chewy and Hutt were specifically targeted for metallurgical drilling rather than standard infill, a deliberate choice driven by their near-surface geometry. That selection is where the strategic logic of the programme becomes visible.

Why metallurgical drilling at Chewy and Hutt shapes early mine economics

Metallurgical drilling is a different exercise from infill or resource drilling. It is not designed to add tonnes to the resource estimate. Instead, it generates variability samples and scaled flotation test data that feed directly into processing plant design. The quality of that data determines the DFS’s operating cost and recovery assumptions.

Wildcat targeted Chewy and Hutt specifically because of their near-surface geometry. Pegmatites that sit closer to surface carry lower strip ratios, which is the ratio of waste rock removed to ore accessed. Lower strip ratios in the early years of a mine translate directly to stronger initial cash flows before Stage 2 capital is committed.

The strategic functions of near-surface metallurgical drilling at this stage include:

• Strip ratio reduction in early mine life
• Variability sample collection for processing design
• Scaled flotation test input for concentrate recovery modelling
• Pit design optimisation for the DFS economic model

Staged throughput design and what near-surface ore enables

Stage 1 contemplates a concentrator processing approximately 2.2 Mtpa, with a Stage 2 expansion to approximately 4.5 Mtpa under consideration. The logic connects directly to the near-surface sequencing strategy: Stage 1 throughput is designed to be underpinned by ore from bodies like Chewy and Hutt, supporting front-loaded cash flow before the larger capital commitment of Stage 2.

For investors, this is the point where the drill results stop being a geological story and become an engineering one. The grades and widths matter, but what will determine the DFS’s operating cost and recovery assumptions is how these pegmatites perform under scaled flotation testing. That work is now underway.

What the DFS timeline means for project advancement

Management has confirmed the DFS is advancing to schedule, with completion targeted for Q3 CY2026, consistent with guidance reiterated at the Diggers & Dealers conference. First production is targeted for approximately 2028.

Development timeline: DFS completion scheduled for Q3 CY2026. First production targeted for approximately 2028.

What matters about this timeline is not the dates themselves but what the project carries into the study. Entering a DFS with approximately 94% of a 74.1 Mt resource classified as Indicated removes a category of technical risk that affects earlier-stage studies. A resource base with a high Inferred proportion introduces uncertainty into pit designs, mine scheduling, and ultimately the economic outputs a study produces. Tabba Tabba does not carry that problem.

The project’s infrastructure positioning reinforces the timeline’s credibility:

• Granted mining leases, removing a major permitting variable
• Approximately 80 km by road to Port Hedland, one of Australia’s most established bulk commodity export hubs
• 94% Indicated resource classification entering DFS, supporting bankable-quality study outputs

The combination of DFS timing, resource confidence, and logistics access puts Tabba Tabba in a comparatively small group of Australian lithium projects capable of credibly targeting a 2028 production start. A tantalum by-product resource of 1.2 Mt at 482 ppm Ta₂O₅ adds further project optionality, though its economic contribution will be quantified within the DFS.

This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Investors should conduct their own research and consult with financial professionals before making investment decisions.

What the Tabba Tabba numbers tell investors watching the DFS

The drilling results, the metallurgical strategy, and the DFS timeline point in the same direction. Three separate pegmatites returned thick, consistently graded intercepts. The two bodies prioritised for metallurgical work were selected for their near-surface geometry and early cash flow potential. The study that will price all of this is on schedule.

What the DFS will answer that the current drilling cannot is what Tabba Tabba’s operating cost, capital intensity, and concentrate recovery assumptions look like at scale. Those are the numbers the market will use to value the project when the study lands.

The open questions for Q3 2026 are specific:

• Operating cost assumptions at Stage 1 throughput
• Capital intensity for the concentrator and associated infrastructure
• Concentrate recovery rates from scaled flotation testing

Tabba Tabba’s total contained lithium of approximately 740,200 tonnes Li₂O across six pegmatites gives Wildcat blending and sequencing optionality that single-deposit projects cannot match. In a post-2022 to 2023 lithium price environment where investor attention has shifted to strip ratio, grade, and development clarity, the next market read on this project will be an economic one, not a geological one. That shift, from geological risk to economic risk, is where Tabba Tabba sits right now.

Forward-looking statements regarding DFS delivery and first production timing are based on company guidance and are subject to change based on market developments, technical outcomes, and company performance.