Green light for Red Mountain to test Oaky Creek antimony with drilling

• Red Mountain gains approval for drilling of antimony targets at Oaky Creek

• Program will include up 32 holes with a maximum depth of 300m

• Completed IP survey will test efficacy of different techniques in detecting antimony mineralisation

Special Report: Red Mountain Mining has received regulatory approval to start drilling of antimony targets at the Oaky Creek antimony prospect within its Armidale project in northern NSW.

NSW Resources Regulator approval has been granted for a reverse circulation drilling program of up to 32 holes to a maximum depth of 300m.

This will test priority targets generated from Red Mountain Mining’s (ASX:RMX) extensive surface geochemical sampling program at the Armidale antimony-gold project.

It has also completed an induced polarisation survey at Oaky Creek South using gradient array (GAIP) and dipole-dipole (DDP) techniques.

Results from the IP survey, which was completed by Fender Geophysics to test the efficacy of the two techniques in detecting alteration and antimony mineralised structures, will be used to assist in targeting drill holes to test potential deeper mineralisation at Oaky Creek South.

Conventional and auger soil sampling and rock chip results of up to 39.3% Ab and 1.09ppm Au at Oaky Creek indicated the presence of a large-scale orogenic antimony-gold vein system with a strike extent of ~3km at surface.

This is analogous to Larvotto Resources' (ASX:LRV) Hillgrove project, Australia’s largest known antimony deposit.

Approved drilling

A series of compelling orogenic antimony-gold targets have been defined from comprehensive surface rock chip, conventional soil and auger soil sampling completed over the last 12 months.

Drilling will test the coherent 300m by 30m Oaky Creek South Main Grid antimony-arsenic soil anomaly as well as three targets defined by rock chip and auger soil sampling at Oaky Creek North.

While initial holes are expected to be between 100m and 150m deep, the maximum permitted depth of 300m allows for testing of further down-dip extensions of mineralisation if justified by early results.

Orogenic antimony vein systems are known to have significant depth extent, with LRV’s Hillgrove deposit known to extend over vertical depths of more than 1km.

Drilling is expected to start at the end of the June 2026 quarter.

Meanwhile, the IP survey was carried out after GAIP was observed to have identified extensions to known orogenic antimony-gold mineralisation at Hillgrove.

The company noted that while DDP was generally more effective than GAIP at detecting resistivity and chargeability responses for steeply dipping narrow structures such as orogenic antimony veins, the longer recording times meant it was significantly more expensive, particularly for large surveys.

Both techniques are being trialled to maximise the potential to directly detect mineralisation.

RMX’s three northwest-southeast oriented IP lines cross the coherent antimony-arsenic auger soil anomaly at the Oaky Creek South Main Grid and extend across the mineralisation at the Oaky Creek South workings.

Depending on results, the company will consider completing a more comprehensive IP survey over the entire Oaky Creek prospect that could potentially map out further antimony mineralisation that does not have a surface geochemical expression.

This article was developed in collaboration with Red Mountain Mining, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.