ASX-listed mining company New Age Exploration announced in a statement this week it had identified nine "high-priority" drilling targets within its Lammerlaw permit, west of Dunedin.
Planned drilling would target gold, arsenic, antimony and tungsten anomalies which had been identified through soil geochemistry and historic workings, offering the potential for "high-value mineral discoveries".
Previous mining in the area had produced about 150 tonnes of high-grade stibnite — the chief ore of antimony — which contained more than 50% antimony and included a gold grade of 2 ounces per tonne.
The Lammerlaw permit contained a 2km-long antimony strike and the nine new targets were some of their "strongest anomalies identified to date".
Drilling was planned for early 2025 after the company completed final geochemistry work on samples, made access arrangements and appointed drilling contractors, over the next 6 to 8 weeks.
Speaking to the Otago Daily Times, New Age Exploration investor relations Mark Flynn said antimony was "all the rage at the moment" and was a "highly valuable" resource at present.
Antimony had been around forever, but since China imposed restrictions on its exports of antimony, earlier this year, the price had "risen drastically".
A gold project that also contained a large antimony deposit, particularly that of a high grade, made it "more valuable," he said.
"Gold plus the antimony makes this a really attractive proposition."
Mr Flynn said everywhere, not just Otago, was "going nuts on gold" and it was only the current gold price boom that made the operation "very economic".
The Lammerlaw permit had a history of mining, but modern techniques made it a lot more effective.
"And with the gold price and the antimony price, it’s very hard to ignore."
New Age Exploration would probably not be the ones to take the site to a mine, but could look to partner with someone else to extract the value.
Its jurisdiction and proximity to Australia made it appealing, and the company had many investors who viewed New Zealand as a lower-risk destination to invest in.
The company was excited to get down there, Mr Flynn said.
"We’ve got a great team on site who are very much looking forward to getting out there and spinning the drill early next year and providing results back to the ASX when received back."
