Western Star Resources Acquires Option for Past Producing Tungsten Project in Nevada

Western Star Resources Inc. has entered into an agreement to acquire the past producing Rowland Project located in the Jarbidge mining district of Nevada. The property represents a high-grade tungsten project with historical values of 3.38% WO₃ reported from previous production activities. The road-accessible property features mine workings consisting of two shallow shafts and several hundred feet of open cuts, with scheelite occurring as coarse crystals and finely disseminated mineralization within garnet, epidote, quartz, and calcite skarn formations.

The acquisition holds strategic importance given tungsten's classification as a critical mineral essential for defense, aerospace, energy, and semiconductor industries. The United States currently has no domestic commercial production of tungsten, creating significant import dependence with approximately 85% of global supply controlled by China. This alignment with U.S. policy priorities positions Western Star to potentially benefit from recent Executive Orders that prioritize fast-tracking domestic tungsten projects and available federal grants and defense-sector support for qualifying assets.

Blake Morgan, CEO of Western Star, emphasized the national significance of securing domestic tungsten sources, stating the acquisition aligns with the company's mission to deliver shareholder value while supporting U.S. government priorities to strengthen domestic supply chains for critical minerals. The company plans immediate exploration activities including geophysics, channel sampling, and mapping with the goal of advancing the project to a drill-ready stage for a maiden program early next year.

Under the agreement terms, Western Star will acquire all rights, title, and interest in the underlying Option Agreement for total consideration of CAD $60,000 and 1,000,000 common shares. The transaction structure includes an initial payment of CAD $20,000 non-refundable within five business days of signing, with deferred payment of CAD $40,000 upon receipt of conditional approval from the Canadian Securities Exchange. Additional deferred milestone consideration includes share issuances tied to specific performance targets including claim area expansion, high-grade sample identification, drilling results, and resource definition.

The vendors retain a 1.5% Net Smelter Return Royalty on the property, with Western Star having the right to buy back 1.0% for CAD $1,000,000 at any time. The underlying option agreement requires payments of US$15,000 by July 1, 2026, US$15,000 by July 1, 2027, and US$20,000 by July 1, 2028 to exercise the option to acquire 100% interest in the property, subject to a 0.5% production royalty. Historical production records indicate that in 1943, W. J. Rowland shipped 4.5 tons of ore containing 3.38 percent WO₃ to Metals Reserve Co., while during 1954-56 approximately 1,000 tons of ore containing 0.5 to 1.0 percent WO₃ was produced from the property.