Stelar Metals Ltd (SLB.AX) Hill of Leaders Tungsten Project Acquisition

Adelaide, May 13, 2026 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Stelar Metals Limited (ASX:SLB) announced that it has entered into a binding earn-in agreement with an option to acquire 100% of the Hill of Leaders Tungsten Project, located in Northern Territory, Australia.

Highlights

- Stelar enters an earn-in agreement with the owner F&H Brothers Metals Pty Ltd with option to acquire 100% of the Hill of Leaders Tungsten Project in the Northern Territory

- Strategic critical minerals opportunity with scale potential, in a region where SLB key management has significant discovery and development experience

- Tungsten is a high-performance metal used in defence, electrification, mining and semiconductors and classified as a critical mineral by US, EU, South Korea and Japan

- Tungsten pricing has surged over the last 12 months driven by Chinese export controls, US tariffs and strategic stockpiling

- Strong geological similarities with nearby Hatches Creek Tungsten Deposit Inferred MRE of 12Mt @ 0.17% WO3 and 0.12 %Cu held by Tungsten Mining NL (ASX:TGN).

- Hill of Leaders mined historically for high grade tungsten from a series of surface vein swarms surrounded by pervasive alteration that contains tungsten along with copper extending over 2km of strike

- Rock chip samples with exceptional grades of up to 6.1%, 2.1%, and 1.3% WO3, as well as significant base metal results including 11.85% Cu

- Historical high-grade intersections from shallow aircore drilling (average only 10m depth) including 1m @ 0.60% WO3, 5m @ 0.19% WO3 and 5m @ 0.17% WO3

- SLB is planning a phased Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling program to test the bedrock beneath surface vein swarms to define grade, thickness, and extent of mineralisation.

- Excellent location only 80km from Tennant Creek and close to major road and rail

"Given Stelar's team successfully acquired, developed, financed and built Core Lithium's Finniss Lithium Project - which became the first operating lithium mine in the Northern Territory - we know what it takes to identify quality critical minerals projects early and unlock substantial value. Tungsten is one of the most strategically important critical minerals in the world right now, with prices surging nearly 900% in twelve months as Western governments move to de-couple from Chinese supply chains. Hill of Leaders has genuine discovery potential of scale, and we are moving quickly to advance it." - Stephen Biggins, Executive Chair, Stelar Metals Limited.

Stelar boasts a significant track record in discovery and development of critical minerals in the Northern Territory, where Executive Chair Stephen Biggins has delivered major success including the discovery, development and mining of Finniss Lithium Project (Core Lithium (ASX:CXO), market capitalisation 2 ~$1,000 million), currently on track to restart production.

Stelar's new tungsten project fits well with the Company's unique experience and skill set in developing critical minerals mining projects successfully in the NT jurisdiction during a period of strategic demand for critical minerals.

Tungsten is classified as a critical mineral by the US, EU, South Korea and Japan, and pricing has increased significantly in the past 12 months, as Chinese export licensing has tightened supply to Western buyers. Tungsten is an extremely hard, dense and non-toxic metal which also has advantages of having a high melting point, and good electric and thermal conductivity. These properties mean it has become a valuable and critical material with various applications in defence, mining, construction, electrification and semiconductors.

Project Overview

The Hill of Leaders Tungsten Project is located on exploration licence EL33232 covering a large 445km2 prospective area in the world-class Tennant Creek mining region of the Northern Territory. The project is well serviced by infrastructure, located approximately 50km from the Stuart Highway and rail connecting the project to Darwin and Darwin Port.

The project sits within the Tennant Creek Inlier, a highly mineralised terrane that hosts several significant copper-gold deposits, with the area also hosting nearby comparable tungsten deposits including Hatches Creek (held by Tungsten Mining NL, ASX: TGN).

Historic Workings and Previous Exploration

The Hill of Leaders tungsten field was first discovered in 1951. Initial small-scale mining successfully produced WO3 concentrate from shallow trenches and shafts extending discontinuously over a strike distance of 1500 metres and over widths of 50 to 200 metres. The workings were confined to areas of outcropping mineralization and the intervening areas with thin alluvial cover were apparently not definitively prospected.

More recently, surface rock chip sampling in 2024-2025 identified high-grade tungsten mineralisation up to 6.1% WO3 alongside highly anomalous copper and bismuth (Figure 2, Appendix 2)*.

Modern exploration has been limited, with the most significant campaign carried out by Washington Resources ("Washington") between 2004 and 20084. This program included airborne magnetics and radiometrics, rock chip sampling, termite mound sampling, and 171 shallow aircore drill holes (1736m).

Of the 171 aircore holes drilled by Washington, 119 were located in the vicinity of the Hill of Leaders workings and targeted areas of alluvial cover. Average hole depths were only about 10m, with drilling penetrating shallow alluvial cover and weathered bedrock. Encouragingly, their drilling results4 support the existence of mineralisation away from the outcropping veins. Tungsten grades reached up to 0.60% WO3, and notably, 23 of the 119 holes returned values above a 0.05% WO3 cut-off and 4 holes hitting high grade tungsten above 0.50% WO3 (Table 1)*. These results indicate widespread tungsten mineralisation extending over at least 2km strike length.

Best intersections from shallow aircore drilling include:

o 1m @ 0.60% WO3 (KWAC026from surface)
o 5m @ 0.167% WO3 (KWAC058 from 10m to EOH)
o 5m @ 0.173% WO3 (KWAC119 from surface to EOH)

No bedrock drilling has ever been completed beneath the surface mineralisation.

Geological Understanding

Tungsten mineralisation at Hill of Leaders is hosted within quartz veins, alteration zones and greisen intruding the Hill of Leaders Granite, and can also be associated with copper and bismuth. Mineralisation presents as a swarm of multiple, stacked, narrow quartz veins and surrounding alteration zones and greisen. While individual veins are typically less than 30cm wide and 200m long, collectively they form a massive swarm that is over 100m wide and at least 2km in length.

The mineralisation style and age show striking similarities to other regional tungsten deposits, most notably TGN's Hatches Creek. The mineralisation is believed to be associated with a major Paleoproterozoic metallogenic event (1730-1680 Ma) that caused widespread tungstencopper deposits across the Tennant Creek and Hatches Creek regions.

Tungsten occurs as both wolframite ((Fe,Mn)WO4) and scheelite (CaWO4), minerals with high specific gravity that are readily recovered using standard gravity separation techniques. Scheelite is readily identifiable under shortwave UV light, facilitating efficient exploration and processing. Both mineral forms potentially support relatively simple and low-cost gravitybased beneficiation.

Geologically, there is potential that the system follows a "Five Floor" vertical zoning model, similar to vein-type tungsten deposits in southern China. Under this interpretation, the current surface at Hill of Leaders represents the upper "mixing zone," meaning the morphology and thickness of the mineralised veins could improve with depth. Because deep bedrock drilling has not yet been conducted, the true extent, vein density, and grade of the deposit below the surface remain unknown.

Summary of Key Transaction Terms

- Upon signing the binding Sale and Purchase Agreement, Stelar will pay the Vendor (F&H Brothers Metals Pty Ltd) $80,000 in cash and issue 3,000,000 SLB shares within 5-days,

- Stelar commits to completing a minimum of 1,000 meters of drilling or at least $500,000 in project expenditure within the first 12 months,

- If drilling intersects greater than 5 meters at 0.25% WO3 within 12 months 3,000,000 SLB shares are to be issued to the Vendor,

- Stelar has the option to acquire the project within 12-months by paying either 3,000,000 SLB shares or $450,000 cash at Stelar's election,

- On announcement of a JORC Resource greater than 10,000 tonnes of contained tungsten metal $500,000 of SLB shares or cash, at Stelar's election, will be paid to the vendor,

- The Vendor retains a 1.0% NSR,

- 6-month escrow on issued SLB shares.

*To view tables and figures, please visit:
https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/PF808C6T

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