Larvotto Resources has kicked off underground mining at its 100%-owned historic Hillgrove gold-antimony project near Armidale in New South Wales, marking a major milestone in the restart of operations, which have been largely dormant since 2016, following a collapse in the price of antimony.
Mining contractor PYBAR Mining Services has mobilised equipment and personnel to site, with development works now underway, including decline and lateral development, rehabilitation, ground support and haulage, initially focused on the Metz mineralised zone before progressing to the Garibaldi zone.
Larvotto’s development program is also targeting about 20 kilometres of additional underground development over an initial four-year period, as outlined in the binding contract awarded to PYBAR in November following a competitive tender.
The new work will build on and extend substantial existing underground infrastructure, which notably includes ore that has been developed and is ready for stoping.
The immediate access to mineralisation puts Larvotto on track for early first ore to surface in the next year, setting the company up to become Australia’s most significant antimony producer. Once the operation is fully bedded down and running at stride, Hillgrove could potentially supply as much as 7 per cent of global antimony demand.
Larvotto Resources managing director Ron Heeks said: “Having PYBAR on-site and with underground development activities now underway is one of the final requirements to bring the Hillgrove Project back into production. We are delighted with the process and how PYBAR have integrated into the site team, with now over 70 Larvotto employees on-site and 80 third party personnel, as we are now firmly in execution mode.”
Elsewhere, Larvotto revealed in early December it had snapped up Elemission’s ECORE automated drill core scanning system, marking the first time the cutting-edge technology will be installed on site anywhere in Australia.
The scanner promises to deliver near real-time multi-element analysis and quantitative mineralogy, which could significantly improve Larvotto’s exploration targeting and metallurgical optimisation at Hillgrove.
The underground restart follows Larvotto's successful A$70 million equity raise and US$105 million senior secured bond issue in July-August, which will fully fund the project's start-up capital and working capital needs.
Combined with ongoing plant upgrades under the separate engineering, procurement, and construction management contract with MACA-Interquip-Mintrex (MIQM), announced in early October, the company says it remains firmly on track for a production ramp-up in 2026.
With tightening global antimony supply and growing demand from critical technology and defence applications, Hillgrove is poised to become a key Western antimony source, delivering both gold and high-purity antimony concentrate to diversified markets.
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By Doug Bright
