Key Highlights

  • The final batch covers the last 15 holes of a 31-hole diamond programme totalling 7,893 metres.
  • The standout result is 10 metres at 9.61 g/t gold equivalent from 526 metres in hole FRE042.
  • A shallower interval of 1.5 metres at 18.94 g/t also grades 1.95 per cent tungsten trioxide.
  • Mineralisation has been traced over more than 700 metres of strike.

Larvotto Resources (ASX:LRV) has received the final assays from its diamond drilling programme at Freehold, part of the Hillgrove antimony-gold project in New South Wales. The latest batch covers the last 15 holes of a completed 31-hole programme totalling 7,893 metres. Hillgrove, near Armidale in northern New South Wales, has a long history of antimony and gold mining.

The standout result reported came from hole FRE042, which returned 10 metres at 9.61 grams per tonne gold equivalent from 526 metres, including 4 metres at 19.91 g/t gold equivalent. Other intercepts included 9 metres at 8.05 g/t from 105 metres in FRE038, with 4.4 metres at 13.53 g/t, and 2.4 metres at 10.37 g/t from 146.7 metres in FRE029. FRE041 returned 2.1 metres at 12.19 g/t from 112 metres and 1.5 metres at 18.94 g/t from 16 metres, the shallower interval also grading 1.95 per cent tungsten trioxide.

How the grades are calculated

All the grades are expressed as gold equivalent, combining gold, antimony and tungsten into a single figure. Larvotto's formula adds gold grade to antimony percentage multiplied by 2.48 and tungsten trioxide percentage multiplied by 8.06. It assumes prices of US$3,900 an ounce for gold, US$30,000 a tonne for antimony and US$120,000 a tonne for tungsten trioxide, with 70 per cent tungsten recovery assumed.

Equivalent grades are sensitive to the price assumptions used, and a change in the relative prices of the three commodities would change the reported figures.

Why Freehold matters

According to the company, mineralisation at Freehold has now been traced over more than 700 metres of strike, roughly double the approximately 300 metres that was historically mined between 1974 and 2002. It remains open to the south and at depth. Freehold lies about 1.2 kilometres from the Hillgrove processing plant and is not included in the current Hillgrove Mineral Resource estimate.

That location is relevant because any future resource defined close to existing processing infrastructure could, in principle, be developed more cheaply than a remote deposit. Antimony is on Australia's critical minerals list because of its use in applications such as flame retardants, batteries and defence materials, and because global Supply is concentrated in a small number of countries. Managing director Ron Heeks said FRE042 shows potential for "high-grade shoots to continue down-plunge". The depth of that intercept, beginning at 526 metres, indicates that mineralisation continues well below the zones intersected closer to surface. At the other end of the range, intervals starting at 16 metres in FRE041 and 105 metres in FRE038 point to mineralisation at shallower levels as well.

Limitations

Freehold has no Mineral Resource estimate, so the results are exploration findings rather than defined tonnes and grade. Several intercepts are narrow, ranging from 1.5 to 2.4 metres, and narrow high-grade structures can be difficult and costly to mine. The deepest intercept would probably require underground access.

Next steps

Larvotto said it intends to carry out further drilling to target the high-grade plunging shoots and extensions of the mineralisation. Results from the completed programme will feed into geological modelling to assess whether Freehold could support a future Mineral Resource estimate. Investors can expect updates on the follow-up drilling and on any decision to include Freehold in Hillgrove's resource base through future ASX announcements.