Spartan Metals expands Victorio measured and indicated resource by 9.5%
The estimate uses a higher value cutoff and revised metal prices ahead of a fourth-quarter economic study of the New Mexico project.
Theo Marchetti
Spartan Metals Corp. CVEW OTCMKTSSPRMF FRAJ03, listed on the TSX Venture Exchange, said on Thursday that Victorio's measured and indicated resource grew 9.5 per cent to 84.54 million short tons. The Oct. 22 estimate will underpin a preliminary economic assessment expected in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Spartan shares CVEW were C$0.31 on the TSX Venture Exchange at 4 p.m. EDT on Oct. 21, according to Google Finance, a price that predates the announcement.
The New Mexico tungsten-molybdenum project's resource comprises 18.61 million short tons measured and 65.93 million indicated. Their combined grades are 0.10 per cent tungsten trioxide and 0.09 per cent molybdenum.
The Oct. 22 release uses a US$50 gross metal value cutoff per short ton, compared with US$25 for the November 2012 historical estimate. The increase therefore includes changes in the metal prices used to define the resource.
Higher Prices And More Drill Data Lift Tonnage
The November 2012 historical estimate contained 77.2 million short tons of combined measured and indicated resources, according to Spartan's project summary. The separate inferred estimate increased 31.9 per cent to 101.84 million short tons from 77.2 million.
Spartan attributes the increases to updated commodity prices, inclusion of 12 previously unreported core holes and revisions to the geological model. The new estimate has an effective date of Aug. 3, 2026, and supersedes the historical resource.
Measured and indicated resources contain an estimated 165.54 million pounds of tungsten trioxide and 147.85 million pounds of molybdenum. These are quantities in the ground, before processing losses, rather than expected sales.
The inferred resource grades 0.09 per cent tungsten trioxide and 0.06 per cent molybdenum. It has lower geological confidence and is reported separately from measured and indicated resources.
"Even at a $50 cutoff, our Measured and Indicated and Inferred resource tonnages exceed the historical 2012 estimate reported at $25," chief executive Brett Marsh said in the Oct. 22 release.
Equivalent Grades Use Assumed Metal Prices
The Aug. 3 resource estimate assumes US$30 per pound of tungsten trioxide and US$18 per pound of molybdenum. Those assumptions yield 0.15 per cent tungsten-trioxide equivalent or 0.25 per cent molybdenum equivalent for the combined measured and indicated resource.
Both express the same two-metal value and cannot be added together. The calculation uses unrounded grades and assumes 75 per cent recovery for each metal, so the equal recovery factors cancel.
The gross metal value cutoff excludes metallurgical recovery, payability and cost adjustments. The resource has not demonstrated economic viability and is not a mineral reserve.
Elsewhere in tungsten development, American Resources Corporation NASDAQAREC said in an Oct. 21 release that an agreement covers planned U.S. demonstration work using Uzbek tungsten. That program is intended to assess processing efficiency, product quality, scalability and commercial viability.
Read more: American Resources signs Uzbek tungsten refining test agreement
Spartan's next milestone is the preliminary economic assessment in the fourth quarter of 2026, evaluating mining, processing, costs and project economics. It will incorporate 26 holes excluded from the previous economic analysis.
The company also says it will file a supporting resource technical report on SEDAR+ within 45 days of the Oct. 22 release.
