How a small rural village near Armidale could be the key to Australia’s critical mineral shortfall

The Hillgrove Mine is officially back in production after more than a decade out of action.

Gold and antimony will be mined in the village of Hillgrove, NSW , with plans to expand operations to include tungsten production in the future.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Hillgrove Mine reopens producing critical minerals

Its delivery of antimony in the global market will have a significant impact on worldwide supply.

Antimony has a number of uses, including in electronics , AI and defence applications.

It’s also used as a metal hardener in lead-acid batteries and a fire retardant.

Antimony is currently listed as a critical mineral in Australia, Japan, the United States and Europe , but most global supply is mined in China.

The nation’s export restrictions, however, have created supply shortages of the mineral, a gap Hillgrove aims to fill.

According to Larvotto Resources Managing Director Ron Heeks, Hillgrove will produce “seven per cent of world antimony and more than 50 per cent of antimony available outside of China influences”.

“The big growth area has been solar panels, so over the last eight to 10 years it has gone from nothing to about 40 per cent of the market and that’s the main driver of the shortfall”.

Larvotto has held high level talks with governments and stakeholders in Australia , Taiwan , Japan and the United State s.

The historic mine has been around since the 1880s but was placed into care and maintenance in 2015, before Larvotto Resources acquired it at the end of 2023.

It was mainly used as a gold mine in the late 1800s, with intermittent mineral production in the late twentieth century until 11 years ago.

Heeks says in less than three years they have “completed the technical studies, secured funding, redeveloped the underground mine, upgraded the processing plant and brought the operation back into production”.