Larvotto Resources has scored $30 million from new and existing investors, ensuring it is well-funded to intensify exploration of its Hillgrove antimony-gold operation near Armidale in NSW.
The two-tranche placement will see 57.7 million shares issued at 52c apiece and follows on from the company recently receiving a total of $14.2 million from an offtake pre-payment and option conversions.
Management says the new funding from domestic and offshore investors will be used to turbocharge its exploration programs underground and at surface.
Larvotto plans to add significantly to the existing inventory of antimony tonnage and high-grade gold ounces while demonstrating the potential bulk-scale of the Hillgrove project.
The funding will also be used to considerably advance the old underground workings already in place, conclude a definitive feasibility study for Hillgrove and begin to procure long-lead items to ramp-up processing operations quickly when the time comes.
Larvotto is also looking to build a specialised underground mining team to support drilling activities and prepare for the start of underground mining.
Early site works will be completed in readiness for an expanded processing operations team when project finance is completed and for general working capital.
The offer price of 52c per share is priced at a discount of 12.6 per cent to the company’s last closing price of 59.5c and was offered at a 7.9 per cent discount to the 10-day volume weighted average price of 56.4c.
Larvotto Resources managing director Ron Heeks said: “This equity raising is the culmination of a year of tremendous achievement and progress at the Hillgrove project and commensurate value creation for Larvotto shareholders. It’s becoming increasingly clear that in a rapidly evolving geopolitical climate, the strategic value of high-grade, western world sourced antimony is highly significant.”
Heeks also said the company continues to be encouraged by the success of its drilling campaign at Hillgrove and remains confident that further exploration will allow it to examine mine life extensions and introduce higher-grade material into the mine scheduling.
China’s recent announcement of an immediate ban on critical minerals antimony, gallium and germanium being exported to the United States is expected to dramatically impact supply-demand dynamics in the western world for critical minerals.
The company, which owns a mothballed processing plant that still needs some scrubbing up, hopes to soon produce the specialised metal and is aiming to fill the void expected to arise from the Chinese ban.
Larvotto is planning to march a procession of up to five drill-rigs onto the Hillgrove site to hammer both infill and expansion drill programs into its underground workings and at surface.
The company is extremely well-funded now to carry out its objectives after the recent pre-payment of US$4 million (A$6.2 million) received for its offtake agreement with London-based commodity trader Wogen Resources and the receipt of $8m from the exercise of company options.
Antimony has been on a tear lately too, climbing to US$37,700 (A$57,800) per tonne and Larvotto says its relatively shallow mineralisation coupled with the high-grade quality of the antimony deposit at Hillgrove means it is a prime candidate for early processing at the company’s plant.
The project’s economics at today’s high antimony price could seriously receive an extra leg-up when combined with the existing high gold price of US$2647 (A$4116) per ounce.
Everything seems to be pointing to a serious collision of positive factors for Larvotto, with export bans and unforeseen huge price jumps putting a rocket underneath the company’s potential favourable outcome for Hillgrove.
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By Craig Nolan
