Encounter Resources Limited has returned the highest-grade niobium intersection to date at the Green Deposit within its Aileron Project in Western Australia’s West Arunta region, intersecting 51 metres at 5.0% Nb₂O₅ from 63 metres.

Drillhole EAL1513, completed on the northern margin of the deposit, tested ground outside the existing Mineral Resource Estimate boundary. The intercept includes higher-grade zones of 6 metres at 9.1% Nb₂O₅ from 66 metres and 13 metres at 10.4% Nb₂O₅ from 80 metres.

The Aileron Inferred Resource totals 120 million tonnes at 0.77% Nb₂O₅, which includes a high-grade resource of 26 million tonnes at 1.7% Nb₂O₅. Green itself hosts an Inferred resource of 19 million tonnes at 1.6% Nb₂O₅ using a 1.0% cut-off within a broader 100-million-tonne envelope grading 0.71% Nb₂O₅.

The ongoing 2026 drill campaign is designed to increase confidence and delineate potential starter pit areas across the 4-kilometre-long deposit. Three rigs are currently operating across the Aileron Project. Assay results from the first diamond hole at the Emily deposit are expected in October 2026.

“Our expectation was that, as we closed the existing wide drill-spacing we could intersect spectacular zones of high-grade mineralisation, which is exactly what is happening. These results reinforce our confidence in the potential for high-grade starter pits that could underpin a Tier 1 operation at Aileron. There is a significant pipeline of results to come, and we have three rigs operating across Aileron which ensures a steady flow of updates into 2027.” — Will Robinson, Managing Director

Further assay results and operational updates across the Aileron Project are anticipated through the remainder of 2026 and into 2027.

Read the full announcement: Exceptional Niobium Intersection at Aileron