Thunderbird Resources has announced the acquisition of an antimony and gold exploration land package in the New England Orogen of New South Wales, Australia.
This move positions Thunderbird adjacent to Australia’s largest antimony deposit, the Hillgrove Gold & Antimony Project, which is owned by Larvotto Resources.
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The acquisition of this “highly prospective” package involves a binding SPA with the shareholders of Kooky Resources, granting Thunderbird ownership of the EL9053 and EL9147 licences.
These licences are recognised for their strong potential for high-grade antimony and gold mineralisation.
EL9053 is situated directly beside the Hillgrove project, which has a mineral resource of 7.3 million tonnes at 4.4 grams per tonne (g/t) of gold and 1.3% antimony, amounting to 1.04 million ounces of contained gold and 93,000 tonnes of contained antimony.
The Hillgrove Gold & Antimony Project is currently undergoing redevelopment by LRV, with a positive pre-feasibility study recently released and first ore production targeted for early 2026.
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By GlobalDataThe area covered by EL9053 is notable for its geological and structural similarities to the Hillgrove site, which hosts the antimony-gold mineralisation.
Historical data within EL9053 reveals numerous prospects and occurrences, with reported sampling grades reaching up to 18.2% antimony and 76g/t gold. However, the area has seen limited modern exploration or drilling since the 1980s.
EL9147 encompasses the historical Kookabookra gold field, which has been largely unexplored in recent times.
This field features several gold occurrences and shows potential for orogenic gold with or without antimony mineralisation, as well as intrusion-related gold mineralisation.
Thunderbird executive chairman George Bauk said: “This proposed acquisition provides an enormously exciting, low-cost opportunity for Thunderbird to acquire highly prospective exploration tenements in the heart of Australia’s emerging antimony district.
“The projects surround Larvotto Resources’ Hillgrove Gold-Antimony Project, a top ten antimony resource globally and scheduled to commence production in early 2026.
“Notably, the geological structures that host Hillgrove’s deposits potentially extend north-west into Thunderbird’s newly acquired tenements, which also host numerous historical prospects and targets with significant antimony results, including 18.2% Sb [antimony].”
