Larvotto Resources: Fast-Tracking Australia's Largest Antimony Mine Into A Critical Mineral Deficit

• Larvotto Resources is developing Australia's largest antimony mine - and the world's eighth largest - with high-grade gold at Hillgrove, New South Wales, leveraging $150 million of existing infrastructure acquired from administration for an 8-month, $150 million build timeline with commercial production targeted mid-2026
• The company secured US$100 million in bond financing and AUD$60 million in an equity raise to fund a 500,000-ton-per-annum processing plant producing approximately 5,000 tons of antimony metal and 40,000 ounces of gold annually with all-in sustaining costs of negative $2,000 per ounce (when antimony byproduct credits are applied)
• Strategic offtake agreement with Wogen Resources provides mine-gate pricing based on Rotterdam indices, eliminating logistics risk while antimony prices have surged from $20,000 to over $60,000 per ton following China's export ban
• The operation benefits from exceptional infrastructure including mains power from the NSW grid, proximity to Armidale , 15 kilometers of existing underground development, and residential workforce eliminating FIFO requirements
• Significant expansion potential exists with the mineral field showing 20+ year mine life compared to initial 7-year DFS plan, plus advancing copper projects at Mt Isa and rare earth exploration assets

Larvotto Resources has positioned itself at the intersection of two powerful market forces: surging antimony prices driven by Chinese export restrictions and record gold valuations. Managing Director Ron Heeks is executing an aggressive 8-month construction timeline to bring Australia's largest antimony mine into production by mid-2026, leveraging $150 million of inherited infrastructure to compress what would typically be a $300 million, multi-year development into a capital-efficient restart. The Hillgrove project in New South Wales represents a rare combination of existing permits, processing facilities, underground development, and strategic mineral exposure that has attracted approximately US$150 million in debt and equity financing despite challenging capital markets.

The company acquired the project from administration two years ago after the previous operator suffered a catastrophic failure at a separate operation. 

"We picked up the pieces from the administrators and moved the project forward largely to do what they were doing but increasing the capacity of the plant, making it better suited for the mine, lowering unit costs, and we put a lot of effort into metallurgy."

This opportunistic acquisition provided immediate access to permitted infrastructure including a processing plant, site offices, roads, mains power connection, and 15 kilometers of underground development valued at $67,000 per meter.

Financial Structure Through Bond Innovation

Larvotto executed an unconventional financing strategy for an ASX-listed junior miner by securing $100 million USD through a bond issuance, marking one of the first such transactions in the Australian mining sector in several years. The bond structure provided covenant flexibility and eliminated equity dilution on the majority of the capital requirement.

The company complemented the bond with a $60 million AUD equity raise via the ASX, creating a capital buffer beyond the $150 million construction budget to accommodate potential cost overruns and fund parallel exploration programs. The total development scope includes $70 million for plant expansion from 250,000 to 500,000 tons per annum capacity, $50 million for underground development and rehabilitation, with the remainder allocated to site preparation and team building. This capital structure reflects confidence in the project's cash generation potential while maintaining operational flexibility during the construction phase.

Technical Design Optimises Metal Recovery

The definitive feasibility study targets annual production of approximately 14,000 tons of antimony concentrate containing 5,000 tons of antimony metal, plus 14,000 tons of gold concentrate at 50 grams per ton, and gold bars from free gold comprising 10-40% of total gold production depending on the ore zone. Heeks noted that production economics translate to approximately 40,000 ounces of gold equivalent production at around AUD$8,500-9,000 per ounce which translates to an all-in sustaining costs of negative $2,000 per ounce when antimony byproduct credits are applied at current prices. 

"We're basically on an equivalent basis about a 140,000 ounce per annum producer with a cost base of a 500,000 ton plant."

The engineering design incorporates metallurgical lessons from 30 years of historical antimony production at Hillgrove while adding technical enhancements including a secondary crusher, fine grinding mills, and additional Knelson concentrators to maximise metal recovery.

"At these current prices, every percent that you get is a huge amount of money. We've put a huge amount of effort into the engineering there and the build's underway now." 

The company engaged MACA Interquip Mintrex from the Theiss Group as contractor, with Heeks describing the operator as "one of the best small plant operators builders in the world".

Critical long-lead equipment was ordered immediately following DFS completion to mitigate schedule risk, with all major items already secured. The construction timeline targets mechanical completion by end of Q2 2026 with a four-month commissioning period, though Heeks anticipates faster ramp-up given the plant's operational history. 

"I don't believe it'll take anywhere near that length of time to bring the plant on because it's done it all before. It's doing more tons, but it's not really doing anything different." 

Strategic Antimony Market Positioning

Antimony has emerged as the most critical of critical minerals, with prices surging from approximately $20,000 per ton in the DFS to over $60,000 per ton following China's export ban. The metal's strategic importance spans defense applications, solar panel production, and flame retardants, with the United States producing no significant domestic supply. 

Larvotto secured an offtake agreement with Wogen Resources, which Heeks described as "the largest antimony trader around" and "the smartest thing that we've ever done." The agreement provides mine-gate pricing based on Rotterdam indices, eliminating logistics complexity and allowing management to focus on production. 

"We get paid as it drives out the gate. We don't have to worry about the logistics and we can just focus on what we do, which is dig holes and process." 

This arrangement provides pricing exposure to international markets while transferring concentrate marketing and shipping risk to a specialist counterparty.

The DFS economics were modelled at conservative antimony prices substantially below current spot levels, creating significant upside leverage to sustained elevated pricing. Even with recent pullbacks from the $60,000 peak, antimony remains $20,000 per ton above feasibility study assumptions, directly flowing through to cash margins given the byproduct credit accounting structure.

Interview with Ron Heeks, MD of Larvotto Resources

Infrastructure Enables Operational Excellence

The Hillgrove project benefits from exceptional infrastructure rarely available to junior mining companies, with mains power connected from the NSW grid transmission line running from Victoria to Queensland. The site sits adjacent to extensive solar farms feeding renewable power into the grid, effectively providing solar-powered operations without capital investment. 

"We're not running diesel gen sets and things like that. The synergies and the benefits that we've got for being where we are far outweigh the challenges of being near a regional center." 

Location 20 minutes from Armidale, ranked Australia's third most liveable town, enables a fully residential workforce eliminating fly-in-fly-out requirements. 

The entire workforce resides in the local town, delivering significant operational and financial advantages. Unlike fly-in-fly-out operations that require double staffing to maintain continuous coverage, Larvotto achieves full roster coverage with single positions, generating substantial cost savings. 

Beyond the economic benefits, employees enjoy living and working in an attractive regional location, which supports recruitment and retention while fostering community integration and operational stability. Armidale's infrastructure includes private schools, a university, an airport, and bitumen road access to site, facilitating recruitment and reducing operating costs.

The company implemented dry stack tailings technology rather than conventional wet tailings dams, enabling progressive rehabilitation during operations and substantially reducing environmental bonding requirements. 

Resource Expansion Beyond Initial Mine Life

While the DFS models a 7-year mine life to facilitate project financing, management identifies potential for 20+ year operations through resource expansion and exploration success. Recent drilling at the Baker's Creek deposit has demonstrated high-grade near-surface antimony mineralisation that historical operators ignored while pursuing deeper gold zones. 

"With antimony at record prices, we can start from the top where the old guys weren't interested. Our Baker's Creek deposit shows some of the incredible numbers that you get near the surface that the old-timers and even up until recently weren't interested in." 

Higher antimony grades occur near the surface while deeper zones contain higher gold grades and increased free gold content. Current mining will commence approximately 500 meters below surface where mixed gold-antimony mineralization provides balanced product streams. 

"The metallurgy does change. We put a huge amount of effort into feeding information back to the processing guys so that they can know what's coming."

Beyond Hillgrove, Larvotto maintains an active exploration portfolio including 1,000 square kilometers of copper ground at Mt Isa with drill rigs currently operating 40 kilometers from Glencore's processing mill. 

"Copper is my favourite metal. I think we're going to see copper move, particularly as the war in Ukraine peters off a bit." 

The company also holds rare earth assets with "some of the highest rare earth grades in Australia" scheduled for drilling within six weeks.

Execution Timeline Demonstrates Construction Discipline

Management maintains disciplined focus on construction execution before pursuing growth initiatives, with current team expansion from 5 to 22 office personnel and 40 site staff growing to 300 during full operations. 

Management maintains disciplined focus on construction execution before pursuing growth initiatives. Heek acknowledged the temptation to pursue new opportunities during successful project development but emphasised the importance of maintaining concentration on primary objectives. The company will complete production commissioning and validate operational performance before evaluating additional ventures or acquisitions.

The 8-month construction timeline represents significant schedule compression compared to typical 2-year greenfield builds, enabled by existing infrastructure and simplified scope. Underground mining will be performed by owner-operated crews to maintain grade control, with development work contracted to experienced Australian mining contractors. 

"It's a high-grade narrower orebody, certainly a little bit trickier than some. We want to be able to manage that and have our team doing that. You don't want to be paying a tons bonus when you're more worried about grades."

Fixed-price contracting arrangements provide cost certainty on major construction packages, with rigorous cost tracking protocols implemented by the CFO and site teams. Long-lead equipment procurement completed early in the development process eliminates critical path schedule risks. 

"Critical items and long lead time items are the biggest concern with meeting a timeline these days. So we locked those away straight away," 

The combination of existing infrastructure, simplified scope, experienced contractors, and secured equipment positions the project for on-schedule, on-budget delivery.

The Investment Thesis for Larvotto Resources

• Strategic antimony exposure: Production entry coincides with structural supply deficit driven by Chinese export restrictions and US/European demand for domestic sources, with pricing $20,000+ above DFS assumptions providing substantial margin upside
• Capital efficiency: $150 million development budget leverages $150-300 million of inherited infrastructure including permitted plant, power, underground development, and site facilities acquired opportunistically from administration
• Compressed timeline: 8-month construction schedule to mid-2026 production significantly reduces execution risk and capital exposure period compared to typical 2+ year greenfield builds
• Operational advantages: Mains power, residential workforce, established infrastructure, and mine-gate offtake agreement eliminate typical junior miner operational and marketing risks
• High-margin production: All-in sustaining costs of negative $2,000 per gold equivalent ounce at current antimony prices generates substantial free cash flow from day one of commercial production
• Resource expansion potential: Initial 7-year mine life conservative relative to 20+ year potential from near-surface antimony zones and exploration upside at Baker's Creek and regional targets
• Portfolio optionality: Active copper exploration at Mt Isa (40km from Glencore mill) and high-grade rare earth projects provide growth pipeline beyond Hillgrove production
• Proven management execution: Two-year track record from administration acquisition through financing, permitting, engineering, and construction mobilisation demonstrates operational capability
• Financial flexibility: $160 million debt and equity package provides funding buffer beyond $150 million construction budget plus capital for parallel exploration programs
• Market undervaluation: Current market capitalisation fails to reflect near-term cash generation potential from 140,000 gold equivalent ounce production at industry-leading margins

Macro Thematic Analysis: 

The convergence of geopolitical supply chain restructuring and energy transition metal demand has elevated antimony from obscure industrial minerals to critical strategic commodities. China's September 2024 export ban crystallised decades of Western dependence on Chinese mineral processing, with antimony representing the most acute supply deficit given its defense applications in armour-piercing ammunition, night vision equipment, and missile systems. The United States Department of Defense has begun equity investments in North American antimony developers, underscoring national security implications.

Simultaneously, solar panel manufacturing requires antimony as a dopant in photovoltaic cells, creating demand tension between defense and energy transition applications. Price appreciation from $20,000 to $60,000+ per ton reflects not speculative excess but fundamental supply-demand imbalance absent near-term resolution given 3-5 year development timelines for new production.

Larvotto's positioning as one of fewer than five Western antimony projects approaching production creates strategic value beyond pure commodity price exposure. Government offtake agreements, tax incentives, or strategic investments represent plausible upside scenarios as Western nations prioritise domestic critical mineral supply chains. The combination of defense-grade antimony with gold production provides a hedge against single-commodity price volatility while maintaining leverage to structural antimony shortage dynamics.

TL;DR

Larvotto Resources is executing an 8-month, $150 million construction program leveraging inherited infrastructure to deliver mid-2026 production of 5,000 tons antimony and 40,000 ounces gold with all-in costs of negative $2,000/oz, capturing structural supply deficit as China restricts exports and Western governments prioritise domestic critical mineral sources. Strategic offtake agreements, exceptional NSW infrastructure, and 20+ year resource expansion potential position the company as a rare de-risked exposure to the highest-conviction strategic mineral theme.

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