Larvotto inks option on historic Queensland high-grade copper mine
Larvotto Resources managing director Ron Heeks said: “The acquisition of the Blockade Mine, previously mined for High Grade copper by Mount Isa Mines Ltd., has been a strategic priority that we have been pursuing for a number of years to complement our Mt Isa portfolio. The Blockade surrounding us has the potential to form an integral part of a regional hub-and-spoke operation and underpin near-term copper production from the existing mine.”
The programme’s top drill hole analyzed 1.63 per cent copper and 484 parts per million (ppm) of cobalt from 29m, providing a very respectable cutoff of 71m; This includes 37 m, 2.48 percent copper and 604 ppm cobalt from 29 m.
The second-best shot gave up 1.36 percent copper and 397 ppm cobalt at 70 yards from 72 yards; It included 3.21 percent copper from 10 meters and 953 ppm cobalt from 73 meters.
The program’s third-best copper catch came from a 12-metre interception that went for 4.31 percent copper and 54 ppm cobalt from 14 metres, within a larger reach of 26 metres, at 2.36 per cent copper and 89 ppm cobalt from 5 metres.
Three upper cobalt assays from two separate holes included 7 m at 1075 ppm; this included one hole grading 3m of 1119ppm, while a second hole yielded 2m of cobalt at 1081ppm.
Larvotto plans to immediately commence cautious drilling with a targeted six-hole program consisting of approximately 1500m of RC drilling to confirm Kilo hits, extend mineralization northwestward along strike, investigate parallel faults and pursue deeper sulphide copper mineralization below 100m vertical depth.
Results, expected to be delivered early in the first quarter of next year, will feed into preliminary resource modeling to solidify the $1 million acquisition cost, which will be financed with cash and/or shares at Larvotto’s option, following a $400,000 exploration commitment. The initial acquisition cost will be complemented by production-based payments capped at $10 million.
If confirmed, Blockade could transform Larvotto’s Mt Isa asset from greenfields to a short-term producer and complement its flagship Hillgrove antimony-gold project in New South Wales.
The company recently made headlines after rejecting a US$723 million (A$1.1 billion) takeover offer from US antimony processor United States Antimony Corporation.
Larvotto believed that the proposal grossly underestimated the value of the NSW Hillgrove gold-antimony project, which has a gold equivalent resource of 1.7 million ounces and a feasibility economics study that yielded an average annual EBITDA of US$250 million over an 8.2-year mine life under a mid-case pricing scenario.
While copper prices remain strong due to global supply shortages and Blockade located in the heart of Australia’s leading copper state, Larvotto’s low capital infusion looks poised to position the company for scalable growth in the Tier-1 region.
The company’s fast-track confirmation drilling could quickly transform historical high-grade drilling successes into a modern resource to reveal another potential item in the company’s evolving Mt Isa hub-and-spoke production strategy and shed new light on Mt Isa’s next copper chapter.
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