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Doug Bright
Larvotto Resources has swung the spotlight onto tungsten at its Hillgrove gold-antimony project near Armidale in NSW, outlining a growing pipeline of high‑grade tungsten drill targets which could add a valuable third revenue stream alongside gold and antimony.
The company said a recent review of historical data has confirmed a coherent gold–antimony–tungsten system at the Curry’s Block prospect, where tungsten mineralisation has been traced across one kilometre of strike and remains open at depth and along strike. The block sits just 4.5 kilometres by road north of the Hillgrove processing plant.
Historic drilling at the prospect returned a string of high‑grade tungsten intercepts, including gold equivalent grades well above typical Hillgrove averages. The metal occurs as scheelite, a mineral known as calcium tungstate, which is the principal source of tungsten.
The high-grade tungsten is closely associated with the operation’s gold and antimony lodes, where several holes have also delivered notable grades, including narrow, high‑grade intervals exceeding one per cent tungsten trioxide.
‘As tungsten is increasingly recognised as a critical metal amid tightening global supply, it is trading at record high prices.’
Larvotto Resources managing director Ron Heeks
Examples of high-grade tungsten mineralisation in or near antimony-gold lodes intersected in historic drilling include 5m assaying 0.381 per cent tungsten trioxide from 144m. The same hole gave up a strong gold equivalent result from the 5m combined gold-antimony-tungsten intercept, assaying 11.8g/t gold equivalent, including 2.9m going 19.5g/t gold equivalent from 144m.
Two other holes delivered 1.9m at 0.350 per cent of the tungsten trioxide from 34.6m and 0.2m at 1.40 per cent from 13.9m.
Larvotto Resources managing director Ron Heeks said: “Historic drilling at Curry’s Block Mine highlights a compelling and underexplored gold–tungsten opportunity. The results define a coherent, high-grade tungsten system with associated gold and antimony that remains open at depth and along strike.”
The renewed focus on the heavy metal follows encouraging metallurgical testwork completed late last year, which delivered recoveries of up to 90 per cent tungsten and a sixteen‑fold increase in feed grade.
Larvotto says Curry’s Block represents a near‑mine opportunity, with approvals now in hand and diamond drilling scheduled to begin shortly as part of its broader Hillgrove exploration campaign.
The company said tests have shown that tungsten could be recovered using a relatively simple, low-cost circuit, producing a saleable concentrate with minimal impact on existing gold and antimony operations.
Notably, the Hillgrove processing plant already includes a dedicated tungsten gravity circuit that has never been utilised, giving Larvotto a potential head start if it decides to add tungsten to its production mix.
Another point of interest resides with the tailings storage facility at the Hlllgrove mine. Previous operations at Hillgrove between 1982 and 2002 focused primarily on antimony, with tungsten – often associated with gold-bearing veins – being sent straight to tailings, largely because prices and processing options at the time did not justify recovery.
Larvotto has already undertaken scout auger drilling and metallurgical testwork to assess the viability of potentially recovering tungsten, gold and antimony from the historical 1.4 million-tonne tailings storage facility. Early investigations indicate that a significant amount of metal could be recovered.
With tungsten now designated a critical mineral by Western governments and global supply dominated by China, tungsten’s strategic and economic appeal has dramatically lifted.
While initial production at Hillgrove is still expected to be driven by gold and antimony, Larvotto says tungsten is emerging as a high‑value by‑product that could enhance margins and diversify revenue once mining is underway.
Recent IP geophysics at the company’s Metz and Clarks Gully prospects has already shown it can define resistive and chargeable features associated with gold and antimony mineralisation within the Hillgrove system.
With that success in hand, the company is now preparing to roll out an IP survey at Curry’s Block as well to better define the lode system and sharpen drill targeting both along strike and at depth. A geophysical contractor is expected to mobilise within the next fortnight to begin the work.
With diamond drilling already approved and ready to start at Curry’s Block and multiple other Hillgrove prospects, which also show tungsten associations, the company looks set to build momentum around what could become an increasingly important part of the project’s long‑term story.
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Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au