A bonanza-grade gold hit of 5.3m at a sparkling 220 grams per tonne from 245m has sent Larvotto Resources’ share price surging on the company’s biggest-ever trading day since its 2021 listing with the ASX.
The stunning intersection was revealed today within a suite of results following a diamond drilling campaign that has extended the mineralisation at the company’s Hillgrove gold-antimony project in New South Wales. An immediate market reaction saw its stock jump from an overnight close of 7.2c to reach an intraday high of 11c, with more than 40 million shares changing hands - representing a jump of nearly 53 per cent.
And there was depth to the delivery of results, with the impressive 5.3m intercept contained within a wider 31m section grading 65.8g/t gold from 244m and also a deeper high-grade section of 4.75m going 161g/t from 255.1m.
Larvotto recently completed the five-hole diamond drill campaign covering 2036m at its Bakers Creek target at Hillgrove in an area that has historically produced more than 300,000 ounces of high-grade gold. Additional highlights show a 3.5m intercept at 9.55g/t gold from 161m including 0.5m going 49.6g/t from 162.6m, while a third hole delivered 13.1m grading 3.61g/t from 346m including 4m at 8.11g/t from 349m.
The Bakers Creek mining centre sits next to the company’s Metz mining area that has an existing decline and extensive underground development in place. Management says Metz will be the focus for the start of mining at Hillgrove.
Previous drill hits at Bakers Creek feature 0.45m grading a whopping 257g/t gold and the area is comprised of several zones including the Little Reef prospect that was the main target for Larvotto’s latest drill campaign.
Larvotto Resources managing director Ron Heeks said: “The standout result of 31m at 65.8 g/t Au has clearly demonstrated that the mineralisation does extend to depth while maintaining excellent grades. We believe that other adjacent mineralised zones will also extend to depth in a similar way, and we look forward to testing these with upcoming drill programs, providing confidence that we can add further resources at Hillgrove from deeper zones.”
The Hillgrove project sits 23km east of Armidale in NSW and comprises four exploration leases and 48 granted mining leases across Larvotto’s 254 square kilometres of tenure.
The company picked up the 1.4-million-ounce gold equivalent operation after entering into a binding term sheet with the administrators of former owner, Red River Resources, for a purchase price of less than $6 per ounce.
Significantly, the acquisition also includes an operational processing plant, which was put on care and maintenance in 2021. It features a 250,000 tonnes per annum capacity and came with associated infrastructure.
The area has been mined since the 1870s and the Hillgrove operations have produced more than 740,000 ounces of gold and about 40,000 tonnes of antimony. It is believed to be Australia’s biggest antimony deposit and also sits in the world’s top 10 resources for the commodity.
Management says its latest drilling campaign has confirmed significant mineralisation not only within the Little Reef lode, but also within the associated shear zone that was intersected with several drillholes. Importantly, the results infill and extend to depth the current Bakers Creek mineralisation, which is not currently included in the Hillgrove mineral resource.
With gold still comfortably sitting above the $3520 per ounce mark, Larvotto’s diamond drill assays have been timed to perfection – and the market is clearly paying close attention.
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By Michael Philipps
