Highlights

  • FRE042 returns 10m at 9.61 g/t AuEq from 526m, including 4m at 19.91 g/t AuEq — the standout deep intersection of the Freehold programme.
  • FRE038 delivers 9m at 8.05 g/t AuEq from 105m, demonstrating high-grade mineralisation close to the historical mine.
  • The Freehold mineralised system has been extended from approximately 300 metres of historical Mining to approximately 700 metres of defined strike.
  • High-grade tungsten intersections confirmed: FRE041 returns 1.5m at 1.95% WO3 from 16m and 0.6m at 1.01% WO3 from 226m.
  • Freehold is located 1.2 kilometres from the Hillgrove processing plant, providing clear development proximity optionality.

Larvotto Resources Limited (ASX:LRV) has reported final assay results from its 31-hole, 7,893-metre diamond drilling programme at the Freehold Mining Centre within the Hillgrove Antimony-Gold Project in New South Wales. The completed programme has extended the gold-antimony-tungsten mineralised system to approximately 700 metres of strike — more than double the historical mining footprint — and has identified multiple high-grade shoot targets warranting further drilling, including a 10-metre intersection at depth in hole FRE042 that the Company considers a priority follow-up target.

Latest Development

The standout result from the latest batch is FRE042, which returned 10 metres at 9.61 g/t AuEq from 526 metres depth, including 4 metres at 19.91 g/t AuEq from 526 metres. This intersection, located approximately 100 metres farther south along strike from the previous most southerly Freehold hole, demonstrates the continuation of high-grade mineralisation at significant depth and warrants further drilling to test whether it forms part of a down-plunging high-grade shoot. FRE038 returned 9 metres at 8.05 g/t AuEq from 105 metres, including 4.4 metres at 13.53 g/t AuEq from 109 metres — a commercially significant shallow intersection adjacent to the historical underground development. FRE041 confirmed tungsten mineralisation at multiple levels: 1.5 metres at 1.95% WO3 from 16 metres and 0.6 metres at 1.01% WO3 from 226 metres. Western Margin holes FRE030 and FRE032 at Freehold East confirmed additional parallel structures outside the main Freehold lode system.

Company Background

Larvotto Resources is an ASX-listed multi-commodity explorer with a primary focus on its Hillgrove Gold-Antimony Project in NSW's New England Orogen, a structurally complex zone hosting antimony-gold and tungsten mineralisation. The Hillgrove project is centred on the Hillgrove Mine site, which includes a 330-metre-deep historic shaft and underground development, and a modern processing plant 1.2 kilometres from Freehold. The project also hosts the Rover and Cougar deposits and a substantial existing Mineral Resource. Larvotto also holds the Mt Isa and Eyre multi-commodity projects in Queensland and Western Australia respectively.

Sector Context

Antimony is classified as a critical mineral by Australia, the United States, and the European Union, primarily due to its concentration of global production in a small number of jurisdictions and its strategic use in flame retardants, lead-acid batteries, and military applications including armour-piercing ammunition. Tungsten is likewise a critical mineral with significant defence and industrial carbide applications. Australia has a limited number of significant antimony-gold resources, making Hillgrove one of the country's more strategically relevant critical mineral assets. The 1.2-kilometre proximity to an existing processing plant significantly reduces the Capital requirement for developing additional Freehold resources.

Market Perception

The 10-metre intersection at 9.61 g/t AuEq in FRE042 at 526 metres depth, with its 4-metre sub-interval averaging approximately 19.91 g/t AuEq, is commercially meaningful in the context of a structurally controlled narrow-vein gold-antimony system. For narrow-vein, high-grade systems, the identification of a down-plunging shoot of this grade at depth provides a potential high-value underground development target. The confirmation of tungsten in multiple holes adds another Commodity dimension to the Freehold system, following recent metallurgical testwork that demonstrated approximately 90% WO3 recovery potential at Hillgrove.

Growth Drivers

The Freehold programme's expansion of the known mineralised footprint from 300 metres to 700 metres of strike provides a substantially expanded target area for future drilling. The two western structure holes at Freehold East, while returning narrower intersections, confirm that parallel lodes outside the main Freehold structure are mineralised and represent additional target inventory. The regional Hillgrove processing plant's proximity to Freehold means that future resource development at Freehold could be incorporated into existing processing infrastructure, reducing standalone capital cost. Tungsten recovery as a by-product, now supported by recent metallurgical testwork, adds incremental commodity optionality.

Risks and Challenges

Freehold is not currently included within the Hillgrove Mineral Resource estimate, and further drilling will be required before the Freehold system can be formally assessed for resource classification. The steeply dipping narrow-vein geometry is characteristically variable in grade continuity and requires careful geological modelling before resource estimation. Underground access through the existing historical mine infrastructure remains a consideration, and geotechnical assessment of old workings will be required. The 2024 Definitive Feasibility Study metallurgical assumptions underpinning the AuEq calculations are from the broader Hillgrove deposit and may not be directly representative of Freehold-specific material.

Recent Announcements

Earlier Freehold results from the first 16 holes were reported in February and April 2026, with this announcement reporting the final 15 holes. The Company has previously reported a Definitive Feasibility Study for the Hillgrove mine with existing resource inventory, metallurgical recoveries of 83.1% for gold and 86% for antimony. Recent metallurgical testwork demonstrating approximately 90% WO3 recovery confirms the potential to add tungsten as a third product stream.

Key Insights

Larvotto's completed Freehold programme has quadrupled the geological understanding of the Freehold mineralised system and identified three distinct drilling targets warranting follow-up: a deep high-grade shoot in FRE042, shallow high-grade mineralisation at FRE038, and western parallel lodes at Freehold East. The combination of a 700-metre strike, multiple high-grade lode structures, tungsten mineralisation, and 1.2-kilometre proximity to an existing processing plant positions Freehold as a compelling near-mine resource growth opportunity within the Hillgrove portfolio.