• Trigg Minerals reveals transformative acquisition grading up to 63% antimony in strategic pivot
  • Taylors Arm project in New England Orogen of NSW contains 71 historic mines, including some of Australia’s highest grade historical antimony producers
  • Spartan project pick-up will see Trigg set up camp next to Australia’s largest antimony resource, the Hillgrove mine

 

Special Report: Trigg Minerals has engineered a transformative acquisition, picking up a string of historic antimony mines that include some of the highest grades of the critical mineral ever recorded in Australia.

Already hot on the trail of copper and gold at its Drummond project in Queensland, Trigg (ASX:TMG) has emerged as the latest antimony explorer in a growing landscape of Aussie hopefuls.

But unlike many other proponents, the Taylors Arm portfolio and Spartan antimony project have history on their side in the form of previous production and proximity to Australia’s largest antimony resource.

Taylors Arm contains no less than 71 historical mines on granted exploration licence areas, including the Testers mine which featured massive stibnite veins grading up to 63% Sb, the highest recorded in Oz.

The Swallows Nest mine started during World War 2 delivered a 40% Sb concentrate from 1940-1955 and 30% product when it reopened in 1972, with recent rock samples showing the grade could still be there (29.8% Sb and 31.4% Sb).

Elsewhere the Little Purgatory mine has stockpile samples up to 27.7% Sb, Real McKay has reported 15.2% and 52.7% Sb from a stibnite-bearing fault breccia and other historical workings and prospects have delivered impressive grades from the New England Orogen project.

Spartan, also acquired in the deal with Bullseye Gold Pty Ltd, is located immediately next to Larvotto Resources (ASX:LRV) and its mothballed Hillgrove mine on the same rocks. Larvotto shares are 460% higher over the past six months, most of that since mid-August.

 

West’s antimony demand surges

Why is that, you may or may not be wondering?

At its root are export controls planned by the Chinese Government, which produces in the order of 55% of the world’s antimony and does most of its processing. Prices have doubled this year to record prices of around US$25,000/t.

The other major producer is Russia, another country considered less than friendly to Western tech and defence products manufacturers who need the metal for semiconductors, infrared sensors, night-vision goggles and weapons casing.

It’s also used in solar cells and electric vehicles, flame retardants, lead-acid batteries and nuclear weapons, making Western government investment in the supply chain a national and international security imperative.

A US owned mine in Tajikistan and the ageing Costerfield operation in Victoria, under the stewardship of Toronto-listed Mandalay Resources, are among the few large exporters outside China and Russia.

Trigg has secured some of tbe hottest antimony exploration ground in Australia. Pic: TMG

While many explorers have been perusing old data books and resampling drill hits looking for antimony, Trigg’s acquisition will give it 288km2 of turf with proven antimony production.

“Trigg’s acquisition of ultra-high-grade antimony assets in NSW represents a transformative transaction for the Company, significantly enhancing its strategic resource portfolio,” TMG executive chairman Timothy Morrison said.

“The move into the antimony space positions Trigg to capitalise on growing demand for the critical mineral and strengthens our market presence. With successful exploration, we can achieve a strong foundation for future growth and profitability.”

 

Tonnes of the stuff

Trigg will pick up the assets in a deal that will see around $850,000 worth of shares traded to the vendors, 50% of it escrowed for six months.

It says the goal is to unlock further economic value from the historically productive Taylors Arm region.

Outside of Swallow Creek, the Purgatory mine produced 1229t of antimony at a grade of 42.27% Sb from 1935-1954 while prospectors have uncovered further significant mineralisation at the Bradleys mine in more recent times.

Elsewhere, Trigg announced the start of drilling at the SW Limey Prospect this week at Drummond.

The target, which will be submitted to month long drill investigation, is thought to have similar geology to the nearby 3.6Moz Pajingo gold project, once owned by Evolution Mining (ASX:EVN) and still producing bullion for private Chinese digger Yuxin.

 

 
 

This article was developed in collaboration with Trigg Minerals, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

 

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.

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