Locksley Resources (ASX:LKY | OTCQX:LKYRF | FSE:X5L) confirms high grade antimony potential at Mojave
February 4, 2026Locksley Resources has reported further high grade antimony results from batch sampling at its Desert Antimony Mine within the Mojave Project in California, reinforcing the presence of primary antimony mineralisation and advancing the technical foundation for pilot scale processing.
The latest results follow earlier technical milestones achieved in late 2025 and provide additional data to support metallurgical optimisation and Phase 1 pilot plant design.
Highlights
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Batch sampling completed at the Desert Antimony Mine within the Mojave Project in California
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Assay results returned antimony grades of up to 26.1% Sb
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Weighted averages of up to 25.7% Sb, compared with earlier sampling of 7.6% to 7.8% Sb
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287 kg of material collected for metallurgical testwork and pilot plant design
The batch sampling program targeted mineralised stibnite rich veins exposed within historical underground workings at the Desert Antimony Mine.
Batch 1 returned a weighted average of 25.7% Sb from 55.56 kg of material, while Batch 2 delivered a weighted average of 21.3% Sb and Batch 3 returned 11.4% Sb.
Across all 286.66 kg of samples, the total weighted average grade was 18.7% Sb, a result that places the mineralisation well above typical byproduct antimony grades reported globally.
The significance of these results lies in the confirmation of primary antimony mineralisation rather than antimony occurring as a lower grade byproduct of gold or silver systems.
At the Desert Antimony Mine, mineralisation is hosted within quartz stibnite veins that were historically exploited prior to 1937, with recorded production grades of 15% to 20% Sb, and the system remains untested by modern drilling despite the close alignment between those historic grades and the latest batch sampling results.
From a processing perspective, the company notes that double digit antimony grades offer operational advantages.
Higher grades can reduce the required mass pull and energy consumption during grinding, potentially leading to faster flotation kinetics and a smaller processing footprint.
These characteristics are relevant to the planned 2026 pilot processing facility, where capital efficiency and simplified flowsheets are key considerations as the project progresses toward a mine to market strategy for antimony.
The batch sampling material will now be used for advanced flotation and crushing testwork, with results feeding directly into the engineering design of the Phase 1 pilot plant.
This work builds on earlier testwork that produced a 68.1% Sb premium concentrate from a 325 kg sample, providing continuity between bench scale results and pilot scale planning.
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Kerrie Matthews described the importance of the latest results, stating
“For Locksley to consistently return double digit percentages at over 25% underscores the potential of the Desert Antimony Mine. We are not just looking at byproduct antimony, we are looking at a rich primary source of a metal that the U.S. Department of Defence and the energy sector desperately need.”
Beyond metallurgy, the Mojave Project sits within a broader strategic context, covering more than 491 claims across contiguous prospect areas in the Mojave Desert and positioned adjacent to MP Materials ground near the Mountain Pass rare earths mine.
While the current announcement focuses on antimony, the company is advancing the project with the stated objective of re establishing domestic U.S. supply chains for critical minerals, at a time when the United States has no active domestic antimony production.
Looking ahead, Locksley has outlined next steps including completion of metallurgical optimisation, finalisation of pilot plant engineering design, and ongoing engagement with U.S. engineering consultants and contractors to progress permitting and extraction planning.
As these activities advance, the Mojave Project continues to transition from historical workings into a technically defined development pathway within the U.S. critical minerals landscape.
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