Red Mountain Mining has secured drilling approval at its Armidale Antimony-Gold Project and acquired the Pioneer Tungsten Project in Montana, confirming significant tungsten mineralisation. The company is poised for a busy exploration phase across its US and Australian critical minerals assets.
- Maiden drilling approved for Armidale’s Oaky Creek prospect
- Pioneer Tungsten Project acquisition completed with strong surface assays
- Thompson Falls Antimony Project expanded near US smelter
- Exploration spend of A$401k with cash reserves of A$2.025 million
- Drilling at Armidale expected to start early August 2026
Drilling Greenlight at Armidale Antimony-Gold Project
Red Mountain Mining (ASX:RMX) has taken a major step forward at its Armidale Antimony-Gold Project in New South Wales, securing regulatory approval for a maiden reverse circulation (RC) drilling campaign at the Oaky Creek prospect. The program, comprising up to 32 holes to depths of 300 metres, is designed to test multiple high-priority orogenic antimony-gold targets identified through extensive soil and rock chip sampling over the past year.
The Oaky Creek prospect lies within the Southern New England Orogen, Australia's premier antimony province, adjacent to the Peel Fault system known for orogenic gold and antimony mineralisation. Historical shallow workings dating back to the early 1900s have exploited stibnite and gold, but modern exploration has been limited until now.
Orientation induced polarization (IP) surveys completed in May revealed a coherent chargeability anomaly extending at least 400 metres along strike and dipping steeply to the southeast, interpreted as sulfide-bearing quartz-carbonate-stibnite veins persisting to depths beyond 100 metres. This geophysical signature significantly expands the drill target beyond the 120-metre surface vein footprint, underpinning the upcoming drill campaign scheduled to start in early August following contractor delays.
Pioneer Tungsten Project Acquisition and Surface Sampling
In the United States, Red Mountain completed the acquisition of the Pioneer Tungsten Project in Montana during the quarter, gaining 100% ownership of claims covering three prospects; Greenstone, Mammoth, and Lost Creek. The project lies adjacent to Almonty Industries’ Gentung tungsten deposit, which hosts a 6.83 million tonne resource grading 0.315% WO3.
Reconnaissance rock chip sampling at Mammoth and Greenstone confirmed tungsten mineralisation with assays up to 0.32% WO3, comparable to the neighbouring Gentung deposit. Magnetic modelling indicates subsurface granodiorite bodies likely associated with skarn mineralisation, supporting the potential for limestone-hosted garnet skarn tungsten deposits at shallow depths. Further systematic sampling is planned for the September quarter to delineate drill targets, with initial efforts focused on the Greenstone prospect.
Expanding US Antimony Footprint Near Smelter Operations
Red Mountain also expanded its Thompson Falls Antimony Project on the Montana-Idaho border by adding 20 new claims, increasing the project area to 477 hectares. The project is strategically located near US Antimony Corporation’s Thompson Falls smelter and the adjacent Stibnite Hill Mine, the second largest known stibnite vein deposit in the US. Historical rock chip samples from the area have returned antimony grades as high as 36.5% Sb, with associated gold mineralisation.
While assay results from recent reconnaissance sampling are pending, the expansion positions Red Mountain to capitalize on the growing US demand for critical minerals, particularly antimony, which is essential for various industrial applications.
Portfolio Status and Financial Position
Aside from Armidale and its US critical minerals projects, Red Mountain continued to hold its other assets across Australia, Canada, and the US, including the Utah Antimony Project, Yellow Pine and Silver Dollar Antimony Projects in Idaho, and the Fry Lake Gold-Copper Project in Ontario. No significant field activities were reported for these during the quarter.
Financially, the company reported exploration and evaluation expenditure of A$401,000 for the quarter, primarily directed towards Armidale and US projects. Operating cash outflows totalled A$651,000, with investing cash outflows of A$540,000, offset by financing inflows of A$1.458 million from equity issues. Cash and cash equivalents stood at A$2.025 million at quarter’s end, providing approximately two quarters of funding based on current expenditure levels.
Red Mountain’s management indicated readiness to raise further capital if necessary to support ongoing operations and exploration activities.
Bottom Line?
Red Mountain’s imminent drilling at Armidale and advancing tungsten exploration in Montana mark a pivotal phase, but assay results and drill outcomes will be key to validating these early-stage targets.
Questions in the middle?
- Will the maiden drilling at Oaky Creek confirm the depth and strike extensions suggested by geophysics?
- How will further sampling at Pioneer influence the timeline and scale of drilling at the tungsten prospects?
- Can Red Mountain leverage its expanded US antimony projects to attract strategic partnerships amid growing critical minerals demand?