Tests at Sandover fluorite strike show ‘ultra-high grade’ resource

Tests at a prospective Central Australian mine site have sparked hope of a new resources boom. Read what was found.

Tivan Sandover project.

Critical minerals start-up Tivan has produced “ultra high-grade” fluorite finds at its Sandover project in Central Australia.

A note posted with the ASX on Tuesday showed results from 26 assays at the Sandover site measured up to 94 per cent calcium fluorite, with eight assays from randomly sampled locations returning 80 per cent grades.

The Tivan note said the results are considered ultra high-grade when compared to global peer resource comparisons.

Tivan acquired the Sandover fluorite project in November 2024 for $1.075m, including an initial $400,000 cash payment and contingent on mineral production.

Acquisition completion is expected in February, following tenement transfers and stamp duty assessment by the NT Government.

Grant Wilson, executive chair of Tivan, photographed in Central Australia

Tivan executive chairman Grant Wilson said the company had commenced a sacred site clearance certification process with the Central Land Council and that talks were scheduled this month.

He said Tivan would progress development planning through the first half of 2025, including further surface sampling and resource mapping in support of a drilling campaign later this year.

“The assay results from the Sandover Fluorite Project have far exceeded the bullish expectations Tivan held during our due diligence for the acquisition last year,” Mr Wilson said.

“The extent of the surface mineralisation, the ultra-high grades and the absence of deleterious elements indicate a genuinely Tier 1 global deposit, highly amenable to project development. “Tivan will now leverage the project development capabilities we are building at the Speewah Fluorite Project and the good standing we have achieved with traditional owners and Native Title Holders over the past two years to develop a low-risk pathway to resource definition and project delivery.

“In doing so, we will sequence our entry into offtake markets in Asia in close collaboration with our proposed joint venture partner, Sumitomo Corporation.

“With the valuation framework recently achieved at Speewah, and the structural scarcity and criticality of high-grade Fluorspar in Asia, Tivan is now in a commanding position to build a company of strategic importance across northern Australia.”

Originally published as Tests at Sandover fluorite strike show ‘ultra-high grade’ resource