Thalanga mine operator Red River Resources has moved into the gold business with the acquistion of the Hillgrove gold-antimony project in New South Wales

Red River said its had entered into a binding agreement with Bracken Resources to acquire the project for $4 million, payable in Red River shares.

Hillgrove was placed on care and maintenance in 2016 due to low prevailing antimony prices.

Red River said the site included significant infrastructure with a historical cost of $180 million and a significant high-grade mineral resource.

This includes existing processing plant, surface infrastructure, underground development, resource definition drilling and underground mining fleet. 

“We have been working on the acquisition of the Hillgrove Gold-Antimony Project for over six months and it’s a great addition to our portfolio,”  
Red River managing director Mel Palancian said.

“We love gold and bringing mining assets back to life cheaply. It’s rare to find a high-grade gold asset that is close to production with quality resources and infrastructure.

“We can fund near-term commitments from our strong existing cash balance and ongoing cash flow. 

“We will continue to focus on production and growth at Thalanga as there is an exciting future ahead with significant growth potential.

“For Hillgrove, we will ensure a smooth transition of the asset and evaluate the opportunities by upgrading and growing resources and developing an optimised restart study.” 



The Thalanga operation

Red River began production at the Thalanga mine, south-west of Charters Towers, in 2017 after a restart project.

It bought the Thalanga processing plant and surrounding tenements from failed miner Kagara’s administrators in 2014.