Trigg Minerals (ASX: TMG & OTCQB: TMGLF) has received state-level approval to begin drilling at its Antimony Canyon Project in Utah, allowing the company to advance its first subsurface exploration program on privately held ground. The permit authorises drilling across multiple prepared pads, with final clearance expected once the company lodges the required bond. Mobilisation is planned before the end of December.
Permit Advantage on Private Tenure
The initial campaign targets only the company’s Patented Mining Claims. These claims are privately owned and regulated by state authorities, offering a streamlined approval pathway that avoids the longer federal review processes associated with unpatented claims. Trigg has already completed earthworks, set drill pads and finalised logistics, enabling a rapid shift from surface sampling to drilling.
The program will investigate the “Salt and Pepper” tuff horizon, a felsic volcanic unit strongly associated with high-grade stibnite. Surface sampling inside this zone previously delivered antimony grades exceeding 30 percent over short intervals, reinforcing the focus on this stratigraphic horizon. The tuff hosts multiple historic workings, including the Emma and Gem mines, where mineralisation remains open at depth and along strike.
Drilling Contractor and Technical Focus
Energold Drilling USA has been engaged to carry out the work using heli-portable S4 Ranger rigs. These modular diamond rigs can be helicopter-lifted to pads located above steep canyon walls, limiting ground disturbance and reducing the need for road construction. The drilling contract includes winter-ready equipment such as line heaters and torpedo heaters to maintain water supply and functionality during freezing temperatures.
The Phase 1 program comprises at least 24 holes totalling approximately 1,650 metres. Twenty-one holes will target the Little Emma prospect, testing feeder structures and continuity beneath known high-grade zones. Three deeper drill holes will be completed at the Gem prospect, where recent sampling recorded antimony grades above 17 percent. Diamond core will allow detailed structural logging and precise sampling of brittle volcanic units that have historically hosted the district’s strongest grades.
Project Readiness and Next Steps
Supporting infrastructure is already in place. A secure core yard has been constructed on private land to manage logging, cutting and sampling. SLR Consulting will oversee quality assurance and quality control procedures. Aviation logistics have been arranged to position equipment on elevated pads, and cultural and biological surveys confirmed no archaeological or ecological constraints within the planned disturbance area.
The approval moves Trigg Minerals into an active drilling phase. The results will deliver the first modern subsurface dataset from a historically high-grade antimony system and will guide future technical studies, including potential pilot-scale extraction planning for 2026.
Read more about Trigg Minerals: Trigg Minerals Defines District-Scale Antimony System at Antimony Canyon
