Larvotto extends high-grade gold-antimony-tungsten story in NSW

Larvotto Resources has delivered another round of strong diamond drilling results from its Midas Gully system at the Metz Mining Centre, a key structural lode complex within the company’s Hillgrove gold-antimony project in NSW.

A standout hit at Midas Gully delivered 13 metres assaying 8.56 grams per tonne (g/t) gold equivalent from 253m depth, featuring 0.5m assaying 13.33g/t from 254m and 1.2m at a whopping 34.53g/t gold equivalent from 263.2m.

The same hole also clipped the top of the adjacent Endurance lode, 100m west of the Midas Gully lode, with a near-surface intercept delivering 5m going 4.53g/t gold equivalent from only 15m depth, including 0.5m running 28.23g/t gold equivalent from 15.8m. 

A second drill hole nailed the Midas Gully lode 200m higher than the preceding intercept and only 70m below surface, directly beneath the Midas Gully surface workings.   

Another hole, drilled from the north and still in progress, recorded mineralisation in a position interpreted as a depth extension of the Midas Gully lode, about 50m below the main intercept, with assay results awaited.  Notably, the lode remains open at depth on this section below this intercept, 236m vertically below surface.

Larvotto says the combination of drilling results and spatial confirmation from historic workings now points to a significant Midas Gully lode target, stretching more than 700m along strike to the northwest, 350m vertically and remaining open both to the northwest and at depth. 

The company has completed eight drill holes at Midas to date, with all holes intersecting high-grade mineralisation. 

The new results have bolstered Larvotto’s immediate focus on Midas Gully, which it says is a high-grade target, interpreted as a north-northwest extension of the Syndicate lode. 

Larvotto Resources managing director Ron Heeks said: “Strong drilling results at the MMC reinforce its key mining role for the first years of production at Hillgrove. These new results confirm the continuity of mineralisation along the Syndicate-Midas structure, north-west of previously reported high-grade drilling results, reinforcing our confidence at MMC as we continue to explore the system beyond historic drilling and mining.” 

The company believes the Blacklode structure, the parallel Endurance lode, 170m north of Blacklode, the Syndicate lode and its northwest strike continuation as Midas Gully are all associated. Taken together, they form an important structural complex near existing underground development that is only 1.8km west of the company’s Hillgrove processing plant. 

That complex remains open to the northwest and southeast, leaving plenty of room for further growth. Intriguingly, it also appears to be mirrored by a second, still-emerging northwest-trending structural system about 500m to the east of Coxes Reef, which may also be intersected by the Blacklode and Sunlight structures.

With the Metz Mining Centre slated to play a key early role in the first years of planned production, any potential new discoveries that can be woven into the developing mine plan with minimal extra development are likely to be well-received by the market.

While gold and antimony remain the centrepieces of the Hillgrove story, Larvotto has also flagged tungsten as a potential credit across the field. In its latest Midas Gully hit, the company reported tungsten oxide grades within the broader gold equivalent intercept. 

Larvotto is undertaking a review of tungsten potential across the Hillgrove field and has lodged approval applications to drill historical gold-antimony-tungsten workings at its Curry’s Block prospect.

In a nod to modern exploration, the company has leaned into technology to speed up its decision-making. By adopting laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) to scan the core, geologists can now generate near-real-time multi-element maps, refine samples and gain a better handle on mineral zonation.

In a separate but related push, Larvotto has also completed induced polarisation (IP) surveys over parts of the Metz Mining Centre. 

The company says a single IP line over historic workings at Midas has identified a coincident chargeability and resistivity signature associated with gold-antimony-tungsten mineralisation. Another line has outlined a coherent feature along strike from the historic Coxes Reef, throwing up an additional drill target that remains open along strike and at depth. 

The latest results follow the company’s early April drilling update from the Blacklode area, where it reported thick gold equivalent mineralisation, including 1.4m at 21.8g/t gold equivalent from 263.5m and a separate, deeper 31.5m at 4.35g/t gold equivalent from 294.9m.  High-grade tungsten oxide was also logged alongside the gold-antimony lodes. 

With four diamond drill rigs active across Hillgrove, including at Metz and Clark’s Gully, and fresh geophysics now adding more aim-points, Larvotto looks set to steadily build a growing gold-antimony tonnage at Metz. The added possibility of tungsten credits shapes up as a handy third string as the company’s project restart story gathers momentum.

If the company can maintain its current trend of solid drilling hits and an improving structural story, it could see Hillgrove heading into its planned mid-year restart with a bigger and higher-grade resource pipeline than the market may have been expecting.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au