Larvotto Resources Ltd. has produced its first antimony and gold concentrate at the Hillgrove mine in New South Wales.
The achievement follows the commissioning of the processing plant’s flotation cells and concentrate filter presses. This milestone comes closely on the heels of the mine’s official recommencement of production in August, which saw the completion of an extensive redevelopment and plant upgrade program to world-best practice standards.
Over an initial eight-year mine life, Hillgrove is forecast to produce approximately 4,900 tonnes of antimony and 40,500 ounces of gold annually. The successful processing run transitions Larvotto into the delivery phase of its binding long-term offtake agreements.
Under the secured contracts, antimony concentrate will be supplied exclusively to UK-based Wogen Resources for seven years, while gold concentrate will go to Glencore International AG under an expected annual agreement of approximately 15,000 dry metric tonnes.
Larvotto Managing Director Ron Heeks noted the importance of establishing steady-state operations and securing direct access to international supply chains.
“Commissioning the flotation circuit and concentrate filter presses, allowing the production of our first concentrate, is the latest in a series of significant milestones achieved by Larvotto at Hillgrove,” Heeks said.
“Achieving first concentrate also reinforces Hillgrove’s position as a globally significant new source of antimony, an essential critical mineral in growing demand from Western governments.
“Our focus remains on ramping up Hillgrove to nameplate capacity and growing the project into a multi-decade critical minerals operation.”
During the plant’s commissioning, raw material was coarse-floated in rougher cells before undergoing further refinement in Jameson and cleaner flotation cells to yield a 60 per cent antimony product.
The concentrate was then densified in thickener storage tanks before filter pressing removed excess moisture to meet technical specifications.
