Larvotto Resources managing director Ron Heeks said: “Acquiring the Blockade Mine that was previously mined for High Grade copper by Mount Isa Mines Ltd has been a strategic priority that we have pursued over several years to complement our Mt Isa portfolio. Blockade, which we surround, has the potential to form an integral part of a regional hub-and-spoke operation and serve as the basis of near-term copper production from the existing mine.”
The top drill hole from the program delivered a very respectable intercept of 71m assaying 1.63 per cent copper and 484 parts per million (ppm) cobalt from 29m, including 37m going 2.48 per cent copper and 604ppm cobalt from 29m.
The second best hit gave up 70m at 1.36 per cent copper and 397ppm cobalt from 72m, with an included 10m at 3.21 per cent copper and 953ppm cobalt from 73m.
The third best copper intercept of the program came from a 12m intercept going 4.31 per cent copper and 54ppm cobalt from 14m, within a broader run of 26m at 2.36 per cent copper and 89ppm cobalt from 5m depth.
Three top cobalt assays from two separate holes included 7m at 1075ppm, which included 3m grading 1119ppm in one hole, while a second hole delivered 2m going at 1081ppm cobalt.
Larvotto plans to immediately kick off diligence drilling, with a targeted six-hole program of about 1500m of RC drilling to validate Kilo’s hits, extend mineralisation northwest along strike, scout parallel faults and chase deeper sulphide copper mineralisation below 100m vertical depth.
Results, which are expected to be delivered early in the first quarter of next, will feed preliminary resource modelling to firm up the $1 million acquisition cost to be funded by cash and/or shares – at Larvotto’s choice – following a $400,000 exploration commitment. The initial acquisition cost will be topped up with further production- based payments, capped at $10M.
If validated, Blockade could fast-track Larvotto’s Mt Isa presence from green-fields to a near-term producer, complementing its flagship Hillgrove antimony-gold project in New South Wales.
The company recently found itself in headlines after rejecting a US$723M (A$1.1 billion) takeover bid from US antimony processor, United States Antimony Corporation.
Larvotto believed the offer vastly undervalued its NSW Hillgrove gold-antimony project with 1.7 million ounce gold equivalent resource and a feasibility economics study, which, from its mid-case pricing scenario, delivers an average annual EBITDA of $250M over an 8.2-year mine life.
With copper prices holding strong amid global supply strains and Blockade sitting in the heart of Australia’s premier copper province, Larvotto’s low-capex entry looks ready to position the company for scalable growth in a Tier-1 district.
The company’s fast-tracked validation drilling could rapidly convert the historical high-grade drill hits into a modern resource to deliver another potential spoke in the company’s emerging Mt Isa hub-and-spoke production strategy and shine a new spotlight onto Mt Isa’s next copper chapter.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
