Mining Company Discovers Exceptional Gold-Antimony Results in Nevada

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NevGold Corp. (NAU:TSX.V; NAUFF:OTC; 5E50:FSE) announced a "robust historical geological database" from drilling results at its Limousine Butte Project in Nevada is helping the company unlock substantial potential for gold and the critical mineral antimony there.

In a release, the company said historical drilling is being re-evaluated to focus on both minerals.

"There is only a small amount of historical drilling analyzed for antimony, and large portions of the existing database were not analyzed for antimony, creating a significant opportunity to re-assay historical drilling," NevGold said.

Considered a critical mineral by the United States Geological Survey and the Department of Defense, about 90% of the world's supply of antimony currently comes from China, Russia, and Tajikistan, the company. China began restricting its exports to the U.S. in December.

Antimony is across the military in the manufacturing of ammunition, night vision goggles, infrared sensors, laser sighting, and nuclear weapons and production. It's also used in clean-energy storage, NevGold said.

"The discovery of significant gold-antimony drill results in historical drill holes is an important, emerging development at our Limo Butte oxide gold-antimony project," NevGold Chief Executive Officer Brandon Bonifacio said. "Limo Butte exhibits significant gold potential, and we have now uncovered an important additional value layer at the project with the antimony."

High-grade oxide gold targets at Resurrection Ridge and Cadillac Valley coincide with the best antimony results, creating a "compelling dual-commodity opportunity," he said.

"We are well-positioned with a robust historical database containing unreleased gold-antimony results (that has) significant potential to re-analyze historical drilling not previously tested for gold and antimony," Bonifacio said. "And the project is fully permitted and drill-ready for future exploration and drilling programs. The timing and market conditions are opportune to re-awaken the gold-antimony potential at Limo Butte."

Prospective Areas Permitted, Ready to Drill

Key historical drilling highlighting the gold and antimony at the project include the following holes drilled by Newmont:

• LIM-40: 4.07 grams per tonne gold equivalent (g/t AuEq) over 54.9 meters (1.20 g/t Au and 0.64% antimony, or Sb), including 6.6 g/t AuEq over 12.2 meters (2.12 g/t Au and +1% Sb).
• LIM-45: 3.02 g/t AuEq over 36.6 meters (1.23 g/t Au and 0.40% Sb), including 4.83 g/t AuEq over 12.2 meters (0.35 g/t Au and +1% Sb).
• LIM-48: 2.61 g/t AuEq over 61 meters (0.77 g/t Au and 0.41% Sb), including 3.82 g/t AuEq over 24.4 meters (0.37 g/t Au and 0.77% Sb)

NevGold said gold equivalents are based on assumed metals prices of US$2,000 per ounce of gold and US$35,000 per tonne of antimony (about a 30% discount to current spot prices) and assumed metals recoveries of 85% for gold and 70% for antimony.

"Historical drilling had an upper detection limit of 1% Sb, but many drill intervals exceeded the limit," the company said.

Historical surface rock samples with significant antimony have been discovered at Limo Butte, including: 10% Sb, 7.9% Sb, 4% Sb, 2.8% Sb, 1.9% Sb, and 1.5% Sb, the company has noted.

All areas at the project with gold-antimony potential are permitted and ready to drill under the Limo Butte Plan of Operations approved in November.

NevGold said it will continue actively exploring the project this year by focusing on gold and antimony in historical geological data, re-analyzing past drilling, and drill-testing gold and antimony targets based on those evaluations.

The Catalyst: Needed for Ammunition, Flame Retardants

Antimony may be a lesser-known mineral to many, but it has gained increasing attention due to its applications in defense, energy storage, and fire safety technologies. 

Its rising market has been attributed to tightening supply and heightened demand across multiple sectors, including clean energy technologies, lead-acid batteries, military applications, and flame retardants, according to a report by Investing News Network on January 2.

The critical role of antimony in fire retardants accounted for approximately 60% of annual demand, while its use in lead-acid batteries, solar panels, wind turbines, and ammunition further strengthened its market position.

According to a release by ABNewswire, antimony recently surged to a record US$51,000 per ton, driven by tightening Chinese export controls and escalating global demand.

"With China and Russia controlling nearly 100% of global production, NATO and Western nations are dangerously exposed to supply disruptions," the report said. "The war in Ukraine has further strained resources, depleting stockpiles and underscoring the West's reliance on foreign suppliers. Without a stable antimony supply, efforts to ramp up military production and sustain industrial output face serious risks."

The global antimony market size was estimated at US$2.17 billion in 2023, noted Grand View Research, which said it would expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.1% from 2024 to 2030. The market expansion is significantly driven by increasing applications in flame retardants, lead-acid batteries, and semiconductors.

"The antimony market is thriving, fueled by tech advancements and its growing role in new industries," Grand View reported. "Efforts to improve antimony's efficiency and lower costs are expanding its market. Its crucial role in electronics, along with increasing use in healthcare and consumer electronics, signals strong growth. Investments in sustainability within its supply chain underscore antimony's importance in future technologies."

The market for gold itself is on fire, of course, as it repeatedly hits new highs, rising at least 13% on the year so far.

Lyle Niedens reported for Investopedia that the threshold of US$3,000 per ounce appears in reach, as gold is considered a safe-haven asset for investors during times of uncertainty.

"Several Wall Street firms have raised their gold price forecasts to US$3,000 or higher," Niedens wrote. "Goldman Sachs, for instance, cited 'structurally higher central bank demand' for gold in addition to investors' appetite for parking assets in safe havens when it early this week raised its gold-price forecast to US$3,100 by the end of 2025, up from US$2,890 previously."

Ownership and Share Structure

Strategic investors include GoldMining Inc., which holds 28.3% of the company on an undiluted basis, and McEwen Mining Inc. 

The company said about 30% is held by management and insiders. According to Refinitiv, these include Non-Executive Chairman Giulio T. Bonifacio with 4.56%, CEO Brandon Bonifacio with 3.46%, Independent Director Gregory French with 0.85%, and Independent Director Timothy Dyhr with 0.70%, Refinitiv said.

About 10% is held by institutions, and the rest is in retail.

As for its share structure, NevGold has 94.25 million outstanding shares and 57.25 million free-float traded shares. Its market cap is CA$28.33 million. Its 52-week trading range is CA$0.17 and CA$0.50 per share.