Larvotto Resources’ latest drilling program has reeled in a string of spectacular new gold and antimony results at its flagship Hillgrove gold-antimony project in New South Wales.
At the company’s twin Eleanora-Garibaldi deposits, the drill bit uncovered uber-high grades up to a whopping 111.27 grams per tonne (g/t) gold equivalent, which could see its stockpile of ounces surge.
The bonanza intercept was measured across a one-metre slice as part of a 4.1m section grading 28.08g/t gold equivalent from 119m.
The latest results stem from an ongoing 9200m diamond drilling campaign, with four rigs turning at Eleanora-Garibaldi and Golden Gate, as Larvotto races to grow its resources and lock in mine plans before plant construction begins.
Further standout hits from Eleanora-Garibaldi included one hole returning a high-grade sweet spot of 5.1m at 35.42g/t gold equivalent within a 23.4m intersection grading 8.97g/t gold equivalent from 135m.
Another hole punched through 6.8m running at 16.81g/t gold equivalent from 197m, while a third served up a broader 26.4m hit grading 2.11g/t gold equivalent from 112m depth.
Juicing up the story, the drilling hit the sort of thick, consistent zones that keep mills humming and drive mine development plans.
Larvotto Resources managing director Ron Heeks said: “Our drilling program continues to produce high-grade drill results. We have four rigs operating on site, with the current priority being at Eleanora-Garibaldi. As well as being one of our main focuses for ongoing resource definition, this drilling is taking advantage of the available drill sites before construction begins at the processing plant and access roads.”
The flagship Eleanora-Garibaldi resource already stands at 2.7 million tonnes grading 6.6g/t gold equivalent, packing 396,000 ounces gold and 19,000t antimony.
Management says while past exploration and mining zeroed in on the highest-grade zones, new drilling is exposing parallel lodes, splays and mineralisation along the edges of old workings.
The current drilling program is focused on identifying what’s still left from old mining, especially near the top, while firming up new zones and improving confidence in the resource model.
Meanwhile, early drilling at Golden Gate – a long-overlooked high-grade zone last mined in the 1800s and 1940s – is showing strong potential. The new target, southwest of Eleanora-Garibaldi, is already delivering some eye-catching hits.
One hole struck 4m grading 19.62g/t gold equivalent from 199m, including jaw-dropping antimony grades of more than 27 per cent.
As the area has seen little modern exploration, Golden Gate is fast becoming a prime target for Larvotto to extend its footprint within trucking distance of the mill.
The Hillgrove mine currently hosts a total resource of 1.97M ounces gold equivalent at an average grade of 7.2g/t, comprising 1.13M ounces of gold and 96,000t antimony.
The project also includes a 636,000-ounce gold equivalent ore reserve at 6.6g/t, with more than $150M worth of processing infrastructure already in place.
Larvotto has also identified an initial tungsten resource estimated at 4774t tungsten trioxide, highlighting the project's multi-commodity potential.
Last month, the company unveiled a stunning set of numbers in its definitive feasibility study for Hillgrove.
The findings headlined a post-tax net present value of $694M at an 8 per cent discount rate, using modest assumed metal prices of US$2850 (A$4384) per ounce of gold and US$41,000 (A$63,076) per tonne of antimony.
The study forecast a $251M annual EBITDA and after-tax free cashflow of $128M over 8.2 years, from an annual production of 40,566 ounces of gold and 4878t of antimony.
If current spot prices are factored in, however, the new present value skyrockets to $1.269 billion, the EBITDA jumps to $354M and free cash flow hits $198M a year.
Perhaps most eye-catching is the projected all-in sustaining cost of gold production, which plunges to a remarkable negative $1367 per gold-ounce, thanks to lucrative antimony credits.
With assays still flowing in and visible gold gleaming in drill core, Larvotto is gearing up to update its resource and reserve estimates, backed by mine-ready infrastructure that could see Hillgrove roar back to life in double quick time.
Its fully owned Hillgrove project is quickly shaping up as a serious player in Australia’s precious and critical minerals scene. Soaring gold prices, the strategic value of antimony and a swelling resource base all point to a project on the rise.
If the momentum continues, Hillgrove could be on track to become the country’s next big gold-antimony revival story.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au
By James Pearson
