Western Star Resources Inc. (CSE: WSR) (OTC: WSRIF) (FRA: 4K2) announced on October 27, 2026, that it has submitted a 43 CFR 3809 Exploration Notice to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Las Cruces District Office for its Eagle Point Tungsten Project in Hidalgo County, New Mexico. The notice, filed on October 22, 2026, and prepared by KC Harvey Environmental, LLC, covers a planned 17-hole HQ core drilling program from 12 drill pads, approximately 0.56 mile of temporary connector roads, and one laydown area, totaling 1.71 acres of surface disturbance on BLM-administered and private land. The submission is a key step toward the company's planned 17-hole, approximately 6,000-foot drill program, which Western Star believes will be the first drilling at Eagle Point in more than 70 years.
Drill targets were refined using results from the company's 2026 surface mapping and sampling program. Blake Morgan, CEO and President of Western Star, stated, "Filing our Exploration Notice moves Eagle Point from field mapping and exploration, to only weeks away drilling. Our 2026 surface work gave us clear targets along the granite contact, and this program is designed to test them beneath surface exposures and talus cover." Morgan also noted the importance of advancing a domestic tungsten project "at a time when secure U.S. supply has become a national priority." Tungsten is a critical mineral used in defense, aerospace, and manufacturing, and the U.S. currently relies heavily on imports.
The drill program will use 17 HQ core holes from 12 drill pads, with planned depths ranging from 164 to 820 feet, designed to test the steeply dipping skarn contact. The total proposed surface disturbance is 1.71 acres, including the drill pads, temporary connector roads, and a single laydown area. All new disturbance will be reclaimed concurrently with the program. Eight of the 12 drill pads, the laydown area, and most of the connector roads are on private surface, accounting for approximately 1.35 acres, while the remaining four pads and about 565 feet of connector road are on BLM-administered land, totaling approximately 0.36 acres. Western Star has a surface use agreement in place with the private surface owner covering road access and all proposed activities on private land.
The project area is accessed by approximately 3.3 miles of existing roads from U.S. Highway 81, which will be used without upgrades. Drilling will use a water-based fluid recirculated through a closed-loop centrifuge system, so no in-ground sumps or mud pits are proposed. Drilling water will be purchased from a commercial supplier and trucked to site, with no on-site well or surface water diversion. Each hole will be plugged and abandoned on completion, and drill pads, connector roads, and the laydown area will be recontoured, topsoiled, and seeded. A project layout figure showing the 17 proposed drill hole locations, drill pads, and infrastructure is available in the Figure 2: Eagle Point project layout, showing the 17 proposed drill hole locations (EP26-001 to EP26-017) on 12 drill pads, temporary connector roads, laydown area LD-1 and the existing access road.
The notice describes an operating period from December 2026 through December 2027. Before drilling begins, Western Star must submit a Minimal Impact Exploration Operation permit application to the New Mexico Mining and Minerals Division and well and plugging filings to the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer, and post a reclamation financial guarantee anticipated to be held jointly by the BLM and the Mining and Minerals Division. The company will also provide supplemental vegetation documentation and the results of a cultural resources file search and site inventory. In parallel, Western Star is tendering drilling contractors, setting up field logistics, and finalizing collar locations using its Leapfrog Geo model. No Mineral Resource has been established at Eagle Point.
The scientific and technical information in the announcement was reviewed and approved by Jacob Anderson, CPG (#12160), MAusIMM (#3089445), an independent consultant and Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. The announcement was distributed via NEWMEDIAWIRE.
