Red Mountain Mining (ASX:RMX) – Antimony-Gold Update: A 19.5% Illusion or a Real Opportunity?
1. Executive Summary
Red Mountain Mining (RMX) has released a fresh announcement touting a “highly anomalous 19.5% antimony result” from a single rock chip sample at its Armidale Antimony-Gold Project. While this may seem impressive on the surface, a deeper analysis reveals significant data limitations, sampling bias, and early-stage speculation disguised as geological certainty.
2. What RMX Is Saying
A massive stibnite vein at Oaky Creek has returned 19.5% Sb (Sample CR08).
The mineralisation is claimed to be orogenic, akin to the Hillgrove Gold-Antimony deposit.
The area has seen little previous exploration, representing a greenfield opportunity.
Land access agreements are in final stages.
Antimony prices are at record highs (US$58,000/t), supporting a bullish macro view.
3. What the Data Actually Shows
Sample CR08: The Teaser
195,000 ppm Sb (19.5%) is undeniably high—but it is from a single, selective rock chip.
Sample was taken from massive stibnite, already known to be high grade.
No width, continuity, or tonnage was reported.
Gold = <0.01 ppm. Cu, Zn, Ag = negligible.
This result is chemically impressive but geologically shallow. There is no resource, just a datapoint.
Other Samples (CR01–CR10):
Most Sb values ranged from 2 ppm to 2,480 ppm.
CR08 is an outlier—the rest of the dataset is largely sub-economic.
No trenching, drilling, or channel samples to validate lateral or vertical continuity.
4. Strategic Framing: Smoke and Mirrors?
RMX compares its mineralisation to Hillgrove (ASX:LRV)—a known antimony-gold deposit. But Hillgrove has:
A JORC-compliant resource
A history of commercial production
A defined mining plan and metallurgical strategy
RMX has none of the above. This is premature and potentially misleading—akin to comparing gold specks in a pan to a producing mine.
The company uses comparative proximity and broad geological setting to create implied value—not yet warranted.
5. Technical Dissection of JORC Table
Sampling was biased: rock chips targeted altered or mineralised outcrop.
No QA/QC protocols reported: no duplicates, blanks, or CRMs.
No information on sample orientation, structure, or vein geometry.
Sample spacing is limited and non-systematic.
No audit, verification, or independent review of sampling or assays.
Exploration-stage discipline is weak. Without QA/QC, results are indicative at best and non-compliant if presented as defining value.
6. Market Hype and Macro Framing
Yes, antimony is a critical mineral, and yes, prices are high—but:
RMX has no scoping study, no metallurgy, and no defined resource.
Linking metal prices to a rock chip is speculative at best.
This is macro framing used to justify micro speculation.
7. What’s Missing or Misleading
No drill holes, no trenching, no assays across intervals.
No geophysics, no continuity testing, no 3D model.
No mention of deleterious elements or metallurgical risk (e.g., arsenic, mercury).
Maps lack scale, section views, or geological validation.
8. Access and Legal Uncertainty
Land access still in negotiation.
Native Title conditions still unresolved.
Project cannot proceed until these are settled—introducing timeline risk.
9. Final Verdict
Conclusion: A High-Grade Mirage
Red Mountain Mining is selling a story, not a mine. The 19.5% Sb sample (CR08) is a geological curiosity, not a commercial cornerstone. Until RMX delivers:
Systematic sampling
Drill results
Resource modelling
Metallurgical testwork
JORC resource compliance
...this remains a speculative greenfield story, not an investment-grade project.
Investors should treat the 19.5% Sb headline as a teaser—not a trigger.9
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