Xtra Energy drills ‘world class’ antimony in Nevada

Drilling by American Antimony Corporation, operating as Xtra Energy (US-OTC: XTPT) has returned results as high as 87 metres grading 5.59% stibnite at its Bernice Canyon project in northern Nevada.

That result, from 104 metres depth in hole BC25-03 of the Arrance core zone averaged 1.46% stibnite and included 1.5 metres grading 1.33 grams gold per tonne, Xtra reported on Friday. The results establish district-wide continuity across a felsite dike system at least 3.2-km long. Stibnite, the mineral that hosts antimony, is a corrosion-resistant metal used in defence and electronics applications. The project is located about 255 km northeast of Reno.

“These [stage one] drill results mark a breakthrough moment for American Antimony/Xtra Energy,” chair and CEO Mac J. Shahsavar said in a release. “Hole BC25-03 demonstrates the thickness and grade required to classify Arrance as a world-class antimony system. The combination of scale, clean metallurgy, and associated gold credits positions us at the forefront of developing a strategically important U.S. domestic source of antimony.”

Antimony streak

The Bernice Canyon results follow a productive recent period for antimony explorers and developers in the United States as the Trump administration seeks to push production of metals regarded as critical for defence or strategic aims.

Last week, Nova Minerals (Nasdaq, ASX: NVA) received $43.4 million (about C$60.5 million) by the United States’ Department of War to support antimony development at its Estelle project in Alaska. And in late September, the Pentagon awarded a $245 million sole-source contract with the United States Antimony Corporation (NYSE: UAMY) to buy antimony ingots for defence applications.

Xtra shares were down 3.2% to $1.14 apiece on Tuesday, for a market capitalization of $255.9 million, though the stock is slightly down from yesterday’s all-time high of $1.34 each.

Global stibnite parallels

Xtra’s other noteworthy drill holes at Bernice Canyon include BC25-11 in the central corridor, which cut 12.3 metres at 1.06% stibnite and 0.18 gram gold from 134 metres depth; and BC25-02 that returned 7.6 metres grading 1.08% stibnite from 35 metres depth.

BC25-05 also returned 7.6 metres at 0.72% stibnite and 0.33 gram gold from 134 metres depth.

The results compare favourably with two globally notable stibnite systems, Xtra said. The Xikuangshan stibnite site in China’s Hunan province, the world’s largest antimony deposit, is also hosted in felsic dikes and have thicknesses and grades comparable to Bernice Canyon’s.

The Schlaining ore district in Austria, which has produced antimony for more than two centuries is also characterized by dike-hosted, quartz-carbonate-stibnite vein.

The results are from among 1,697 metres of drilling at the project across 14 reverse circulation holes completed.