Western Star Resources Inc. (CSE: WSR) (OTC: WSRIF) (FRA: 4K2) has announced plans for the first phase of exploration at its 100%-owned White Star Tungsten Project in Elko County, Nevada, pending final approval from the Canadian Securities Exchange. The program, set for 2026, will be the first modern exploration at the project since the Mission Cross Mine ceased operations in the 1950s.
The White Star Project, located approximately nine miles southwest of Jarbidge in the Charleston Mining District, is adjacent to the company's Rowland Tungsten Project. Together, they cover over six kilometers of prospective tungsten-bearing horizons in a contact metamorphic skarn setting. Historical production at the Mission Cross Mine totaled about 1,000 tons of ore grading up to 1.0% WO3, according to USGS Bulletin 105.
CEO Blake Morgan emphasized the potential of the district, stating, "White Star Property surrounds a documented past producer in a tungsten district that has never been evaluated using modern geophysics or systematic geochemistry." The exploration plan includes a property-wide high-resolution UAV magnetometer survey and soil geochemistry campaign to map the tungsten system and generate drill targets.
The company has compiled historical data from sources such as the USGS Mineral Resources Data System and Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology bulletins. The geophysical survey aims to refine structural interpretations and identify concealed contacts, while soil sampling will detect dispersion patterns from mineralized skarn zones.
Western Star is also initiating the permitting process with the U.S. Forest Service to submit a Notice of Intent. The program is designed to position the project for drill testing once datasets are integrated. The company plans to advance both White Star and Rowland under a single district-scale strategy, leveraging shared road access and logistics.
The White Star Project lies within the same geological setting as Rowland, with Paleozoic sedimentary rocks intruded by a Cretaceous quartz monzonite stock. Skarn mineralization includes scheelite, powellite, and molybdenite. Historical workings at the Mission Cross Mine, also known as the Batholith Mine, targeted scheelite in skarn within a large granite outcrop.
Blake Morgan added, "Running this in parallel with Rowland gives shareholders a single, integrated district story across the Jarbidge and Charleston mining districts." The company expects to provide updates as field mobilization and assay results become available.
