Trigg Minerals Ltd (ASX:TMG) has obtained a portfolio of ultra high-grade antimony properties in New South Wales, featuring antimony grades of up to 63%

20 September 2024

Price Sensitive Announcement $

Highlights:

• Trigg signs a binding purchase agreement to acquire 100% of the Spartan and Taylors Arm Antimony projects in northern NSW after completing due diligence. The projects are in the New England Orogen and are considered highly prospective for antimony ± gold mineralisation.
• Taylors Arm Antimony Portfolio features 71 historical mines that have produced high-grade antimony. The portfolio includes:

  1. Swallows Nest Mine – extracted antimony from 1940 to 1955 at a 40% antimony (Sb) concentration and at 30% Sb on reopening in 1972. Recent rock samples revealed extremely high-grade antimony mineralisation with grades of 29.8% Sb and 31.4% Sb[1].

  2. Testers Mine – featured massive stibnite veins grading up to 63% Sb, Australia’s highest-recorded antimony grade.

  3. Little Purgatory Mine – stockpile samples produced antimony with grades up to 27.7% Sb.

  4. Real McKay Mine – recent exploration identified a stibnite-bearing fault breccia hosting high-grade antimony mineralisation, reporting 15.2% Sb and 52.7% Sb.

  5. Taylors Arm Portfolio contains various other historical workings/prospects with antimony grades up to 20.6% Sb (Walford Creek), 27.5% Sb (Neil & Taylors Prospect), 18.3% Sb (Bowraville), and 17.7% Sb (Kia Ore Mine).

• Spartan Antimony Project – immediately adjacent to Larvotto Resources’ (ASX: LRV) licences containing its Hillgrove Antimony-Gold operation, covering parts of the Hillgrove Fault and the same rocks that host the Hillgrove deposit.
• Antimony prices are trading at all-time highs following China’s export ban on some antimony products from 15 September 2024.
• Antimony is on the Critical Mineral lists of countries including Australia, the USA, Canada, Japan and the EU due to its defence and military applications.
• Trigg has an established exploration team and is funded to commence exploration activities immediately.

Announcement Overview:

Trigg Minerals Limited has announced it has signed a binding purchase agreement with Bullseye Gold Pty Ltd to acquire the high-grade Taylors Arm and Spartan Antimony Projects in northern NSW (Acquisition) (Figure 1).

The Spartan Project covers parts of the Hillgrove Fault and the same rocks that host the adjacent Hillgrove Antimony-Gold Mining Operations, owned by Larvotto Resources (ASX: LVR).

The Taylors Arm Project includes Swallows Nest, Munga Creek, and Testers Mine which have recently produced antimony, the latter features massive stibnite veins grading up to 63% Sb, Australia’s highest-recorded antimony grade. The projects comprise one granted tenement (EL 9668 – Taylors Arm) and one pending tenement application (ELA 6801 – Spartan) across 288km² of the New England Orogen.

Project Overview:

Trigg signed a binding purchase agreement with Bullseye Gold Pty Ltd to acquire a 100% interest in one granted tenement and one exploration application in the New England Orogen in northern NSW.

The application (ELA 6801) lies immediately adjacent to Larvotto’s Hillgrove Antimony-Gold Operations, Australia’s largest known antimony deposit. It lies on the same rocks and covers parts of the same mineralised structure that hosts parts of the Hillgrove Mining Operations.

The granted title (EL 9668) covers 71 historical workings in six mineral camps, including Taylors Arm, from which the project is named, Munga Creek, Toorooka, Pinnacles, Mistake Creek and Purgatory (Figure 2). Many of these camps report high-grade breccia material (with grades exceeding 25% Sb). The widespread occurrence of stibnite (Sb₂S₃), the principal ore for antimony, indicates that the geology is prospective for primary stibnite mineralisation or polymetallic ore or gold-antimony association such as Hillgrove (~75km NW of this location).

Host rocks for the quartz-stibnite breccia veins are predominantly Permian-aged metasediments of the Nambucca Beds in the north and Kempsey Beds in the south. The Munga Creek Mine last operated in 1974, producing more than 1,100t of antimony concentrates.[1]

The Swallow Creek Mine extracted antimony from 1940 to 1955 at a concentration of 40% Sb and returned 30% Sb on reopening in 1972.

The Purgatory Mine produced 1229t at a grade of 42.27% Sb between 1935 and 1954.

More recently, prospecting at the Bradleys mine has indicated the presence of significant antimony mineralisation.

The antimony occurrences of Taylors Arm are structurally controlled by fault, shear and fracture systems.

The Taylors Arm project saw antimony production during two crucial periods: World War II and the early 1970s. This production yielded economically significant grades of the metal. Despite the widespread nature of these antimony occurrences, exploration efforts have mainly focused on these previously identified zones. There has been no modern, systematic exploration since at least the 1990s. Trigg aims to broaden its scope by exploring the potential for larger-scale deposits across one or more of these occurrences. The goal is to unlock further economic value from this historically productive region.

Company Notes:

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

Full ASX Announcement: 02855036.pdf (weblink.com.au)