West Coast Silver (ASX: WCE) raises A$3.2m to advance 2026 exploration at Elizabeth Hill silver project

Alien Metals Limited (AIM: UFO) and West Coast Silver Limited (ASX: WCE) have announced a strategic A$3.2 million placement to fund exploration efforts at the Elizabeth Hill Silver Project in Western Australia. The raise strengthens West Coast Silver’s near-term liquidity as assays and technical site visits loom in early 2026, with Alien Metals retaining an 8.7% equity stake post-transaction.

The capital raise comes amid renewed investor interest in high-grade silver deposits, with the historical Elizabeth Hill mine regarded as one of Australia’s richest silver ore sources. Funds will be allocated toward continued drilling, assay processing, and expanded regional exploration across a newly consolidated 180-square-kilometre land package. Alien Metals continues to hold a 30% joint venture interest in the Elizabeth Hill project.

The placement was executed at A$0.19 per share, reflecting an 11.9 percent discount to West Coast Silver Limited’s 15-day VWAP. It was led by CPS Capital Group Pty Ltd and is expected to close on 5 January 2026, with shares settling around 7 January, subject to standard procedures.

What is the strategic significance of the Elizabeth Hill Silver Project in Australia’s mining landscape?

The Elizabeth Hill Silver Project is notable not only for its historic grades—over 2,100 grams per tonne—but for its underexplored potential in a Tier 1 jurisdiction. In its brief operational life during the late 1990s, the project yielded approximately 1.2 million ounces of silver from just 16,830 tonnes of ore, underscoring its exceptionally high-grade profile.

Yet production ceased in 2000, largely due to silver prices that hovered around US$5 per ounce at the time. With silver now trading well above that level and industrial demand supported by renewable energy and electrification tailwinds, the economics of re-evaluating historic deposits like Elizabeth Hill have materially improved.

Alien Metals and West Coast Silver have positioned the joint venture to leverage this tailwind by expanding the scope of exploration, shifting from a narrow mine-site focus to a district-scale opportunity. The 2026 exploration strategy reflects this pivot, targeting both near-mine extensions and new silver-bearing structures along the Munni Munni fault system.

How does the West Coast Silver placement impact Alien Metals’ capital strategy and project portfolio?

While Alien Metals Limited remains predominantly focused on its flagship Hancock Iron Ore Project in the Pilbara, the company has continued to monetise and strategically participate in non-core assets through joint ventures. The Elizabeth Hill Silver Project is one such venture, where Alien retains a 30% free-carried interest up to a bankable feasibility study.

Post-placement, Alien will also hold 8.7% of West Coast Silver’s expanded share capital, creating dual exposure to project upside—both operationally via joint venture economics and financially via equity participation. This layered position allows Alien to capitalise on exploration catalysts at Elizabeth Hill without overextending its own balance sheet.

This approach is consistent with Alien Metals’ broader asset-light development model, which includes its carried 30% stake in the Munni Munni PGM-gold project through a joint venture with GreenTech Metals Limited. The latest A$3.2 million injection into West Coast Silver strengthens Alien’s exposure to silver and precious metals while enabling the company to focus its core cash burn on the development of the 8.4 million tonne Hancock iron ore resource.

What does the 2026 program aim to uncover—and how are investors positioned?

West Coast Silver’s 2026 campaign is explicitly designed to test both depth and lateral continuity of silver mineralisation beyond the historically mined lode at Elizabeth Hill. With assays already submitted and results due early in the New Year, the market is likely to see near-term newsflow that could re-rate exploration risk.

The focus will also be on district-scale potential, with multiple structural corridors within the 180-square-kilometre tenement package now being actively evaluated. Technical site visits involving specialist geologists are scheduled for January and early February, signalling intent to refine target generation and fast-track drill planning.

Institutional investors, including both new and returning participants, backed the placement, a signal of confidence in the project’s scale and grade potential. CPS Capital’s lead role in the raise suggests a growing appetite for silver-weighted exploration exposure on the ASX, particularly in historically prolific but underappreciated jurisdictions.

Can Elizabeth Hill-style silver systems be repeated within the new tenement footprint?

Geologically, the Munni Munni fault system and its parallel structures are understood to be mineralised over broader areas than previously tested. With recent consolidation of regional exploration tenements by West Coast Silver, this 180-square-kilometre package now captures multiple prospective trends where structural repetition may yield new Elizabeth Hill analogs.

Historical limitations—including fragmented ownership, poor silver economics, and lack of geophysical data—are no longer binding constraints. Today, improved commodity pricing, modern drilling techniques, and consolidated ownership create a more favourable setting for discovery.

The simplicity of the historical processing method at Elizabeth Hill—gravity separation of native silver—also opens the door for potential fast-track reactivation of near-surface ore zones, should they be delineated. However, any new discovery will still require resource definition, metallurgical studies, and regulatory approvals before production can be contemplated.

What risks could constrain the upside from this exploration-led capital raise?

As with all greenfield and brownfield exploration, results from assays will dictate sentiment. The historical grades at Elizabeth Hill set a high benchmark, and expectations of “repeat” deposits may be difficult to meet without high-confidence drill intercepts. Any underwhelming assay results could dampen market enthusiasm and challenge West Coast Silver’s ability to sustain valuation momentum in early 2026.

Moreover, while Alien Metals is free-carried in the project, West Coast Silver must manage dilution risk carefully, particularly if multiple follow-up placements are required in 2026 to fund additional drilling. Execution discipline will be critical in maintaining shareholder support while scaling exploration.

Finally, the lack of an active processing agreement with Radio Hill—a nearby third-party-owned processing plant—means that any near-term development scenario would require additional logistical and commercial work. Investors expecting short-cycle production may be disappointed if processing constraints extend timelines.

What happens next and how does this position West Coast Silver heading into 2026?

The A$3.2 million placement gives West Coast Silver breathing room to focus on data-driven exploration, targeting both depth extensions and lateral repetitions of the Elizabeth Hill silver system. With assay results pending and technical fieldwork planned in the first two months of the year, investor focus will quickly shift from capital raising to drill results.

Alien Metals stands to benefit from any project re-rating, both via its 8.7% shareholding and its 30% carried interest in the underlying tenements. The company’s dual exposure also acts as a hedge, balancing downside risk from its core iron ore asset class with upside from the precious metals sector.

If the joint venture proves up new silver-bearing zones, the Elizabeth Hill project could rapidly move from a historical footnote to a development-stage asset with commercial potential—particularly if processing options are secured and metallurgical recoveries align with past simplicity.

For now, the capital raise resets the exploration clock and raises the stakes ahead of what could be a pivotal assay window in Q1 2026.

Key takeaways: What this A$3.2 million raise means for West Coast Silver, Alien Metals, and silver exploration in Australia

• West Coast Silver Limited has secured A$3.2 million in new funding to support exploration and target generation at the Elizabeth Hill Silver Project in Western Australia.
• The placement was priced at a discount but received strong institutional support, suggesting renewed appetite for high-grade silver exploration plays.
• Alien Metals Limited retains a 30% joint venture stake and 8.7% equity interest in West Coast Silver, reinforcing its leveraged exposure to discovery upside.
• Assay results from recent drilling are expected in early 2026 and represent a major near-term catalyst for market sentiment.
• Technical site visits and refined exploration prioritisation are scheduled for January and February, providing additional momentum into Q2 2026.
• Consolidation of 180 square kilometres of tenements creates the geological scale to potentially uncover repeat Elizabeth Hill-style silver deposits.
• Execution risk remains tied to assay outcomes and the ability to manage capital efficiently if further drilling is required.
• Lack of a processing agreement with the nearby Radio Hill facility remains a long-term development consideration.