Larvotto Confirms Strong Recovery from Hillgrove Tailings with Environmental Upside

Tailings Testwork Unlocks Hidden Value at Hillgrove

Larvotto Resources (ASX:LRV) has delivered encouraging metallurgical results from flotation testwork on its Tailings Storage Facility 1 (TSF1) at Hillgrove, confirming that residual antimony and gold can be recovered with efficiencies reaching 95% and 75% respectively. The testwork validates that the roughly 1.4 million tonnes of legacy tailings, generated during antimony-focused production between 1982 and 2002, remain a viable supplementary feed to the Hillgrove processing plant set to commence in August 2026.

These findings not only bolster the project’s metal inventory but also present a rare opportunity to rehabilitate a legacy tailings dam located adjacent to a 500-metre deep gorge. Managing Director Ron Heeks highlighted the dual benefit: "Reprocess the tailings, recover the metals, and simultaneously rehabilitate a facility that sits adjacent to a 500-metre gorge. That environmental outcome matters both to the project and to the broader community."

Flotation Performance and Metallurgical Insights

The staged flotation flowsheet employed selective antimony rougher flotation followed by gold rougher flotation, using industry-standard sulphide reagents. Antimony recovery ranged from 80% to 95%, with concentrate grades between 15% and 45% Sb, while gold recovery varied from 40% to 75%, producing concentrates grading 4 to 12 g/t Au. These results are preliminary, based solely on rougher flotation stages, with cleaner flotation testwork planned to further enhance concentrate grades and metal selectivity.

Notably, gold is partly associated with antimony concentrates, reflecting the close mineralogical relationship between gold and stibnite-bearing sulphides in the tailings. This co-recovery could add incremental value pending further optimisation. The flotation performance aligns with the conventional methods Larvotto will deploy in the Hillgrove plant, reinforcing the feasibility of integrating tailings retreatment into the broader operation.

Environmental Rehabilitation and Project Integration

TSF1 retreatment addresses a pressing environmental challenge by reducing the volume of historic tailings and supporting progressive closure of the facility. Larvotto aims to minimise long-term tailings management risks while recovering valuable metals, a balance that resonates with regulatory priorities and community expectations. The project’s environmental strategy dovetails with ongoing operational milestones, including the recent delivery of first ore from the Metz underground mine, which keeps the Hillgrove restart on track for August commissioning first ore delivered.

Moreover, Larvotto’s broader Hillgrove portfolio continues to reveal strategic opportunities, such as advancing high-grade gold-antimony-tungsten targets at Curry’s Block, where tungsten’s critical mineral status and record prices add weight to potential by-product credits high-grade gold-antimony-tungsten. Tungsten recovery from TSF1 remains under evaluation, with dedicated testwork planned to confirm its amenability to the proposed gravity-flotation circuit.

Next Steps Toward Resource Definition and Plant Integration

Building on these positive outcomes, Larvotto plans to progress cleaner flotation tests to upgrade concentrates and refine flotation parameters. The company will also explore blending strategies between TSF1 tailings and primary ore to optimise feedstock for the Hillgrove plant. Environmental and regulatory assessments are advancing in parallel, with resource estimation for TSF1 material anticipated pending further technical validation.

While TSF1 tailings currently sit outside the defined Mineral Resource, the metallurgical data suggest they could represent a meaningful supplementary metal source, potentially enhancing project economics and extending mine life. Larvotto’s integrated approach to tailings retreatment and mine restart reflects a nuanced balance of operational, environmental, and community objectives that will be closely watched as the project progresses.