Strategic Overview

Hillgrove Resources Limited's goal is to become a billion dollar plus mid-tier gold and copper/gold resources group. Hillgrove's growth will come from the development of the Kanmantoo Copper Mine in South Australia, exploration discoveries from its highly prospective greenfield exploration projects in Indonesia and Australia, and acquisition of new projects in our key areas of interest.

Principal Assets

Kanmantoo Copper Mine

The Kanmantoo Copper Mine project highlights the technical and commercial capabilities that Hillgrove brings to its projects and is an example of how the mining industry can undertake innovative community, social and environmental initiatives.

Kanmantoo is a low capital cost copper and gold producer around a medium grade orebody which has excellent potential for further expansion.

The project's location, 55 kilometres from Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia, means it enjoys capital cost advantages being close to road, rail, power infrastructure and Port Adelaide. The use of recycled water and grid power provides the project with significant operating cost advantages. This is supplemented by the project's desirability as an employment destination being located both close to Adelaide and within the attractive Adelaide Hills' setting.

Resource drilling has defined a Mineral Resource of 32.2 million tonnes (2.3Mt Measured, 22.5Mt Indicated and 7.4Mt Inferred) grading 0.9% copper and 0.20g/t gold, containing 292,200 tonnes of copper, 191,100 ounces of gold and 3,313,600 ounces of silver.

The Kanmantoo processing plant was commissioned and started production in November 2011.  It has been configured to initially be a 2.4Mt p.a. open cut mine to support an initial mine life of 6.5 years.  The project is expected to produce approximately 80,000 tonnes of concentrate, containing up to 20,000 tonnes of copper in concentrate and 10,000 ounces of gold per annum.  There is potential to increase the mine life and production up to 3.5Mt p.a. subject to further exploration success, licensing and some CAPEX expenditure.

Indonesia Projects

Hillgrove launched a major initiative into Indonesia in late 2008, as the company saw enormous potential in the Pacific 'Rim of Fire', by securing ground comprising two major projects - the Bird's Head Project on the north western tip of the eastern Indonesian province of West Papua and a project area on the island of Sumba, west of Timor.

The Bird's Head Project (Hillgrove 80%) offers an excellent opportunity to explore for large scale epithermal and porphyry style mineralisation within a geological setting that has been proven to host world class deposits. The 992.3 square kilometre area covered is in a favourable geological setting for the discovery of copper gold mineralisation. Bird's Head offered a further advantage: a data package of extensive exploration and drilling information developed by Normandy in the 1980-90's, which allowed exploration work to be fast-tracked and Hillgrove to plan drilling (permits pending), with its local partner P.T. Akram Resources. A site office has been established in the township of Sorong, a base camp constructed at the village of Warmandi and field exploration is currently underway.

The Sumba Project (Hillgrove 80%) sits within a set of islands that host numerous large scale copper/gold porphyry systems and epithermal gold deposits, including Newmont's Batu Hijau Mine on the nearby island of Sumbawa. The Project offers Hillgrove a foothold in a zone of previously identified gold mineralisation that was not followed up due to the difficult economic conditions of the late 1990's. An IUP, awarded to Hillgrove's Indonesian partner PT Fathi Resources, covers 999 square kilometres that is split into two main project areas coinciding with the volcanic basement. The Sumba Project is shaping up to be an exciting exploration initiative with a socialisation programme completed, the base camp and core staff established, and field exploration and sampling already producing highly encouraging results.

Strategic Focus

With construction completed and Kanmantoo now being a copper producer. Hillgrove will once again look to its project pipeline and broadening its portfolio of green and brown field opportunities which will clearly benefit from an experienced management team.  In addition to Indonesia, the Company is looking to define additional resources within its Mining Lease, has a highly prospective 500km2 exploration area beyond that within the Kanmantoo Trough, and will look elsewhere as opportunities arise.

Hillgrove hopes to extend the Kanmantoo Copper Mine’s life to beyond 10 years as it has defined the potential for an Exploration Target of >50Mt of resources at similar grades to the current resource. However, it is important to note this exploration target is conceptual in nature as there has been insufficient exploration to date and it is uncertain how it will affect the determination of an increased mineral resource.