ASX-listed Pinnacle Minerals Limited is pleased to announce the commencement of its maiden on-ground exploration program across its recently acquired U.S. critical minerals projects, which is located in Idaho and Washington State. The program marks a significant step in Pinnacle’s expansion into North America’s key strategic minerals belt, with a focus on antimony, tungsten, gold, and silver.
Thunder Mountain, Stibnite and Yellow Pine Location Map. Image Credit: Pinnacle Minerals Ltd
The field campaign, now underway, covers the Yellow Pine, Thunder Mountain, Antimony Queen, and Justice Projects. These sites are situated in geologically favourable zones that host or are proximal to numerous historical mine workings, including those within the renowned Stibnite Mining District. The program has been initiated following the Company’s recently announced acquisition of the U.S. assets (refer ASX announcement 15 October 2025).
Pinnacle has engaged Piton Exploration to execute the field campaign. Experienced exploration geologists have been mobilised to site and are conducting a range of activities including the verification and mapping of historical mines, geological sampling (rock chip and channel sampling), evaluation of mineralised zones and tailings, and collection of geophysical and structural data to define new targets.
Remote sensing and geophysical analysis are also being utilised, with airborne magnetic data and multispectral satellite imagery informing ongoing mapping and targeting efforts.
The program will initially focus on:
- Yellow Pine District Prospects (Idaho): Silver Cliff Lode, Big Creek, Routson, and Thunder Mountain.
- Washington Projects: Antimony Queen and Justice Mine.
Commenting on the commencement of the program, Pinnacle Executive Chairman William Witham said:
“Commencing field operations at Yellow Pine represents a key step forward for Pinnacle as we transition from reconnaissance to active exploration across our Idaho and Washington projects.
Our current program is designed to validate the extensive historical mining data associated with our claims, located within one of North America’s most prospective and strategically important mineral belts.
The district hosts numerous historical workings and shares strong geological similarities with the nearby world-class Stibnite deposit. Together with multiple untested anomalies, these factors provide a compelling foundation for discovery.
Pinnacle’s strategy is centred on systematic, data-driven exploration aimed at defining high-priority drill targets. This marks an exciting stage in our growth as we continue to build exposure to critical minerals essential for the global energy transition and secure supply chains.”
Pinnacle’s U.S. projects are located near Perpetua Resources Inc.’s Stibnite Gold-Antimony Project (NASDAQ: PPTA), which has a market capitalisation of approximately US$4 billion. These neighbouring projects share structural and geological similarities, including host rock composition, alteration patterns, and the presence of roof pendant-style mineralisation.
The exploration initiative aligns closely with the recently announced bilateral agreement between Australia and the United States, which will see a combined US$8.5 billion investment into critical minerals development to enhance supply chain security for materials essential to defence and clean energy technologies.
The Company notes that many of the historical exploration results stem from U.S. Government records and academic reports. While informative, these historical data are not considered sufficiently reliable or complete to meet JORC reporting standards. As such, Pinnacle’s field activities are designed to validate and verify these legacy datasets prior to the release of any material exploration results.
The commencement of exploration follows site visits by Pinnacle’s Competent Person in September 2025, as well as reviews of geoscientific data from the Idaho Geological Survey, Washington Geological Survey, and the USGS.