The Victorian Government is backing companies to explore local antimony processing, with Southern Cross Gold (ASX:SX2) and Gekko Systems securing more than $750,000 through the Advancing Antimony Grants program.
Funding will be used for studies to explore processing opportunities for antimony from the Costerfield Mine and potential new sources in central Victoria.
Southern Cross Gold is exploring and developing the Sunday Creek Project, with its grant supporting studies into future antimony processing. Meanwhile, Gekko Systems supplies mineral processing technology around the world and will bring that expertise to assessing local opportunities.
The studies will look into how Victoria can scale up a processing industry, paving the way for new investment and skilled regional jobs.
The Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) says developing homegrown capacity to process critical minerals adds value, creates jobs, and secures the nation’s supply chain.
“Antimony is one of the Australian Government’s top three priority critical minerals,” the MCA says.
Australia has the world’s third largest reserves of antimony, with Victoria among the top ten producers of antimony globally.
This means Victoria is well-positioned for antimony processing close to existing and future mines.
More than Southern Cross
Southern Cross Gold’s Sunday Creek Project is a shallow orogenic Fosterville-style mineralisation asset.
In late September, Resources Victoria accepted a mining licence lodged by the company regarding Sunday Creek. The 30.7-hectare application area covers the historical Golden Dyke workings on company-owned freehold land at the project.
Southern Cross is now required to secure approval on a mine work plant and a planning permit.
Another company operating in Victoria is Kalamazoo Resources (ASX:KZR), with one of the largest tenement holdings in the Central Victorian Goldfields.
The company’s 2,006km2 portfolio covering the Bendigo Zone includes three gold-antimony prospective projects — Mt Piper, South Muckleford, and Castlemaine.
In mid-September, Kalamazoo consolidated a 1,574km2 exploration position at the Mt Piper Project, following new tenements being granted.
“Securing and expanding this tenure gives us a significant opportunity to systematically explore for new ‘high-grade’ gold and gold-antimony deposits in a region with clear geological analogues to major Victorian systems,” Exploration Director Ben Ackerman says.
A reconnaissance aircore drill program was also carried out at the Whiteheads Hill prospect, returning up to 155 parts per million (ppm) antimony and 68 parts per billion (ppb) gold.
Reconnaissance work is continuing to advance across Mt Piper, where earlier stage work has uncovered additional targets for systematic follow-up.
CEO Andrew McDougall says Kalamazoo has assembled a significant wholly controlled position across an underexplored part of Victoria’s highly endowed gold-antimony region. He explains that the opportunity is to convert that into a “disciplined pipeline of drill targets”.
“Mt Piper provides Kalamazoo with a meaningful longer-term discovery platform alongside the company’s primary development focus at Ashburton,” McDougall adds.
With the antimony potential within Victoria and the several companies actively exploring for the critical mineral, the state seems well-positioned to have antimony processing opportunities.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Main image: Minerals Council of Australia
