IRIS Metals Limited (ASX: IR1), an exploration company focused on critical minerals, has executed a definitive farm-in agreement with Finley Mining Inc. to potentially earn up to a 100% fully diluted shareholding in Finley Mining. Finley Mining owns the high-grade Finley Basin Tungsten Project located in Granite County, Montana, USA. This agreement follows a binding Heads of Agreement executed in December 2025, granting IRIS the exclusive right to earn-in to Finley Mining. The project covers approximately 378 hectares of unpatented mining claims within the historically productive Flint Creek Mountain Range. Tungsten exploration and production in this region dates back to the early 1900s.
The Finley Basin Project hosts tungsten-rich skarn mineralisation and a historical non-JORC compliant mineral reserve estimate of 850,000 tons at 0.68% WO3 from work completed by Union Carbide in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The project’s location, approximately 30km from a fully permitted 1,000 tons per day contract flotation mill in Phillipsburg, Montana, supports potential efficient future development. IRIS plans to commence a Phase I drill program in Q3 2026, with the goal of announcing an initial JORC-compliant mineral resource estimate in early 2027, subject to drilling results.
The transaction diversifies IRIS’s critical minerals portfolio into tungsten, a metal vital for defence, aerospace, advanced manufacturing, and energy applications. According to Matt Hartmann, President of U.S. Operations, the completion of this farm-in agreement is a key achievement for IRIS, unlocking access to an advanced exploration project. Hartmann expressed eagerness to commence the work program, leveraging historical insights to define a modern JORC resource and explore untested targets across a large area.
Under the agreement, IRIS can earn a 70% ownership interest by funding US$1 million in exploration expenditure over two years and finalising a JORC-compliant Inferred Mineral Resource estimate. Further milestones include the potential to earn an additional 20% interest by spending another US$1 million on exploration. IRIS retains the option to withdraw after a minimum spend of USD$250,000 on the Finley Basin Project with no further obligations.
