Testing Ore Sorting Before Drilling: Maxus Mining's Unconventional Antimony Play

Canadian junior Maxus Mining runs ore sorting tests alongside first drill campaign at historic high-grade antimony project in BC, aiming to cut costs and build North American supply.

Canadian junior Maxus Mining is taking an unusual approach at its Alturas West antimony project in British Columbia, running metallurgical studies on ore sorting in parallel with its first drill campaign. The strategy, which places economic assessment alongside resource definition, marks a departure from the typical exploration timeline where processing tests are left until much later.

Historical records from the site’s former Alps-Alturas mine show why the company is willing to accelerate the process. Past operators extracted more than 95 tonnes of material containing an average antimony grade of 57%, some of the highest concentrations ever recorded in Canada. Maxus now aims to validate those figures and expand the known resource base while simultaneously probing how the rock behaves in a processing circuit.

The diamond-drilling program is set to cover up to 2,000 metres, guided by new VTEM airborne electromagnetic data, surface prospecting and a 3D structural model. That geophysical survey, contracted to Geotech Ltd., is already underway and will be integrated with historic information to better target conductive zones before the drills are mobilised. Systematic soil sampling and community engagement with First Nations groups are running alongside the technical work.

Ore sorting — the process of separating valuable mineralised material from waste rock before it reaches the mill — can cut energy consumption, reduce equipment wear and materially improve project economics. For a critical mineral like antimony, where Western supply chains are under increasing political scrutiny, the ability to lower costs early could prove decisive. CEO Scott Walters described the combination of geophysics, surface work, drilling and metallurgical testing as a key step toward advancing Alturas West and building a secure North American antimony supply.

On the market, the stock remains under pressure despite the programme’s ambitions. Shares trade at €0.53, up 4.76% on the day, but have lost 54.48% since the start of the year. The relative strength index sits at 25, signalling heavily oversold conditions. Annualised volatility has reached nearly 93%, reflecting extreme price swings that have left the share price barely above its 12-month low.

What happens next hinges on hard data, not land size. The company controls roughly 15,300 hectares across antimony, copper and tungsten projects, but near?term catalysts will come from VTEM results, the commencement of drilling and the first ore?sorting indications. Those outputs will determine whether the unorthodox early-stage testing pays off — or whether Alturas West remains a high?grade story without a production path.