Kristie Batten: Trigg surfs antimony wave amid demand swell
One of Australia's top mining journalists, Kristie Batten writes for Stockhead every week in her regular column placing a watchful eye on the movers and shakers of the small cap resources scene.
Trigg Minerals (ASX:TMG) is building momentum in its aim to become a major player in the emerging antimony scene.
The antimony price reportedly cracked US$60,000 per tonne last week, continuing an extraordinary run spurred by Chinese export restrictions.
This month alone, Trigg has welcomed antimony experts Andre Booyzen as managing director and Wiehann Kleynhans as vice president, US downstream operations and acquired a new project in the US.
Trigg executive chairman Timothy Morrison said Booyzen had made 'an immediate contribution to the team'.
Boozyen was formerly vice president of Mandalay Resources Corp, the operator of Australia's only antimony mine, Costerfield in Victoria.
'We're going to do some great things over the next year or two,' he said on a webinar on Thursday.
US footprint secured
Last week, Trigg signed an agreement with EV Resources to acquire the Antimony Canyon project in Utah for $225,000 cash, $225,000 in shares and deferred consideration of $450,000 in cash or shares.
The project, comprising 49 unpatented lode mining claims, sits 11 km east of the Antimony township.
'What other place do you want to be other than a town called antimony?' Boozyen said.
Antimony Canyon has a non-JORC resource of 12.7 million tonnes grading 0.79% antimony for 100,300 tonnes of contained antimony, though that figure has not been updated since 1949.
The project also hosts at least nine known historical mines, including the Emma-Albion mine, the largest historical antimony producer in the district.
Trigg chief geologist Jonathan King said despite historical production, much of the original mineralisation remained in place.
'We love the prospectivity,' he said.
'We think there's an easy opportunity to grow this resource.'
The company will begin fieldwork in the next week and hopes to be drilling by the end of the year or early next year.
'In terms of what is known about this area, it's just in its infancy,' King said.
Boozyen said Trigg was hopeful of fast permitting given US President Donald Trump's emphasis on domestic production.
He added that it was a good time to be in the US given that it was the largest consumer of antimony in the Western world and the company would look to build on its position over the next 6-12 months.
Highest-grade resource
Until last week, Trigg's main focus has been the Achilles project in New South Wales.
According to Trigg, Achille's Wild Cattle Creek is Australia's highest grade primary antimony resource at 1.52Mt at 1.97% antimony containing 29,902 tonnes of antimony.
The company claims it is also Australia's widest antimony resource with average mineralised width of 20m, exceeding typical narrow vein-hosted antimony deposits in the region, which also includes Larvotto Resources' Hillgrove.
A recent review of historical sampling returned grades of up to 27.6% antimony outside the resource.
Trigg is planning to update the resource.
The NSW government recently approved the transfer of the Wild Cattle Creek tenement to Trigg, allowing for field work to get underway.
During the March quarter, Trigg also acquired the Nundle, Upper Hunter, and Cobark/Copeland projects, which hosts chip samples of up to 61% antimony and 1045 grams per tonne gold, with over 60 historical gold occurrences and total historical production of more than 300,000 ounces of gold.
Shares in Trigg rose by more than 50% last week on the positive momentum.
On Thursday, East Coast Research analyst Michael Jarvis lifted its price target for Trigg by 18% to 19.2c, which is still more than three times the current share price.
'This re-rating reflects Trigg Minerals' achievement of key milestones, including compelling MRE upgrades for the Wild Cattle Creek deposit, strategic new high-grade antimony and gold deposit acquisitions in the New England Orogen, and positive corporate changes such as the appointment of a seasoned managing director,' he said.
'These advancements significantly de-risk the company's growth trajectory and enhance its value proposition in the strengthening critical minerals market.'
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