Tungsten keeps showing up in Nevada. On October 1, Western Star Resources Inc. (CSE: WSR) announced results from the first systematic soil sampling at its White Star Tungsten Project in Elko County, Nevada — 253 samples that defined two discrete tungsten-in-soil anomalies and completed a 568-sample program across both of the company's Nevada properties.
- 253 soil samples on a 50-metre grid; the highest value returned 2,230 ppm tungsten (0.28% WO3) at sample B206.
- North Zone: 15 anomalous samples across roughly 215 by 240 metres, peaking at 156 ppm W, developed over the quartz monzonite–tactite contact — in an area with no recorded historical activity.
- South Zone: 5 anomalous samples across roughly 135 by 95 metres, peaking at 2,230 ppm W, on ground south of the historical Mission Cross mine, along the same geological horizon that hosts it.
- Across the district, the program has now defined four tungsten-in-soil anomalies (two at Rowland, announced in September, two at White Star) — and both properties move together into drill target generation.
- Samples were analysed by ALS Global using lithium borate fusion — the method chosen because partial digestions under-report tungsten hosted in scheelite and wolframite.
What happens next
Western Star laid out the sequence: infill the key target zones at 25-metre spacing (extending east, where the anomaly is open), complete additional soil sampling along the prospective horizon, and select drill pad locations to test the four anomalous zones at depth. CEO Blake Morgan said the North Zone is *"particularly exciting"* because it sits in virgin ground — geochemistry pointing to *"tungsten-bearing rock sitting at or very near surface."*
The honest context
Soil anomalies are targets, not ounces. The WO3 figures are calculated from elemental tungsten using a 1.2611 conversion factor, and no resource of any kind exists at White Star. But the backdrop is real: tungsten is a U.S.-designated critical mineral with no operating commercial mine in the country, and Fastmarkets-assessed concentrate prices have more than tripled in 2026, from roughly $750–$850 per mtu at the start of the year to $2,500–$2,800 since late May, per industry commentary. Nevada — already America's gold anchor — is quietly becoming its tungsten frontier too. Western Star is also advancing tungsten assets in New Mexico alongside its Nevada ground.