Nevada stands tall as America’s powerhouse for critical minerals and precious metals, delivering raw materials that power modern tech and national security. In this landscape, certain explorers are pushing boundaries to unlock new potential from historic ground.
Spartan Metals Corp (OTCMKTS: SPRMF) (CVE: W) (FRA: JO3) just saw its shares surge on the markets after it released strong new assay results from the past-producing Antelope Mine at its Eagle Project. The junior reported eye-catching grades that intrigued investors and drove the stock higher, with gains reported around 13 per cent in a single session.
Notable results include a backpack core drill sample that returned 688 grams per tonne silver (Ag) over 0.3 metres, along with 0.67 per cent copper and 0.30 per cent antimony. Surface rock samples delivered even higher silver values, topping out at 1,927 g/t Ag with several others above 1,000 g/t Ag. Antimony reached up to 0.67 per cent and copper hit 1.83 per cent.
These findings have outlined a mineralised area roughly 1.3 kilometres by 0.6 kilometres, which is far larger than the historic mine workings that extended only about 50 metres along strike.
The Antelope Mine forms part of the broader Eagle Project in White Pine County, Nevada. This asset covers past-producing tungsten, silver and other critical mineral sites. Historic operations from the early to mid-20th century extracted high-grade material, and Spartan now works to expand understanding of the district’s potential across multiple types of deposits.
“From a strategic perspective, the occurrence of antimony is especially noteworthy given its growing importance to U.S. critical mineral and national security initiatives,” said Spartan CEO Brett Marsh.
White Pine County has become a hotbed for antimony exploration. Spartan operates alongside other miners advancing similar opportunities. NevGold Corp (CVE: NAU) (OTCMKTS: NAUFF) (FRA: 5E50) is pushing forward with a brownfield antimony-gold project at Limousine Butte, where it recently reported exceptional grades of up to 53.7 per cent antimony in sampling. A2 Gold Corp (CVE: AUAU) (OTCMKTS: AUXXF) (FRA: RR7) has also identified a significant antimony system at its Taylor precious metals project in the same county, with high-grade channel samples and historical production records underscoring the area’s promise.
Read more: NevGold Corp. reports antimony grades up to 53.7 per cent at Nevada project
Momentum ramps up at Eagle
These latest results build directly on Spartan’s earlier surface sampling and exploration at the Eagle Project, which has yielded moderate grades in comparison to these latest results.
Spartan is continuing with a 2026 programme that includes more sampling, backpack drilling, geophysics and planned diamond drilling of around 3,000 metres starting in early to mid-August. This work aims to test high-priority targets and better define the scale of mineralisation across the site’s Rees Claims and other areas.
Spartan is eyeing potential initial production from tailings reprocessing as early as late 2026 or 2027, once it completes ongoing metallurgical studies, economic assessments and permitting. Its goals centre on advancing Eagle toward greater resource definition while evaluating the potential of legacy tailings and expanding the known footprint of multiple metal systems.
Antimony prices have pulled back from 2025 peaks but remain strong, recently trading in the range of US$20.00 to US$35.00 per kilo across major markets. Silver has shown notable volatility, going for around US$60 per ounce after a major rebound from its peak of US$120 earlier this year. Copper has fluctuated around US$6 per pound following a modest year-to-date rally of approximately 8.5 per cent.
Read more: NevGold launches 20,000-metre drill campaign at Nevada antimony-gold project
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