Exploration of a new gold and antimony mine in eastern Valley County will be expanded following favorable results from sampling work completed this fall.
Resolution Minerals, an Adelaide, Australia, mining company, recently announced “exceptional” soil sampling and rock chip results from its Horse Heaven Project near Yellow Pine.
The results prompted Resolution add about 600 acres to the project zone, which now spans nearly 23 square miles bordering Johnson Creek and the East Fork South Fork Salmon River.
The company also expanded the target area of its Antimony Ridge prospect — one of several exploration zones in the Horse Heaven project — to an “open-ended” area of about 3,300 feet by 2,300 feet. It is now collecting sediment samples from 27 miles of creeks running through the project zone to determine more target zones for exploration.
“Horse Heaven is revealing itself to be a much larger opportunity as we conduct modern multi-disciplined exploration across the project area,” said Craig Lindsay, CEO of Resolution’s U.S. operations, which consist only of the Horse Heaven project.
“It’s potential as a very significant antimony, gold, silver and tungsten project is crystalising (sic),” Lindsay said.
Resolution plans to apply for permits to conduct exploratory drilling at Antimony Ridge, which would require approval from the Boise National Forest.
Earlier this year, the Boise forest approved Resolution’s drilling permits for Golden Gate Hill, the main prospect the company is exploring within the Horse Heaven Project.
The company drilled 20 boreholes this fall at Golden Gate Hill, which is less than a mile from Yellow Pine. Assay results are still pending, but will characterize mineralization 1,000 feet into the ground.
Trump briefed on project prospects
On Monday, President Donald Trump agreed to a $8.5 billion critical minerals deal with Australia following a meeting with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the White House.
Kevin Rudd, Australia’s ambassador to the U.S., asked Resolution to brief him on the Horse Heaven Project ahead of the meeting with Trump.
“This briefing reflects the constructive cooperation between Australia and the U.S. on the development of secure, transparent critical mineral supply chains,” Lindsay said.
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As part of the deal, the two countries each pledged to spend $1 billion over the next six months on domestic mining projects that would expand access to critical minerals, according to BBC.
“In about a year from now, we’ll have so much critical minerals and rare earths that you won’t know what to do with them,” Trump told reporters in Washington D.C. on Monday after the deal was announced.
Anthony Albanese finally gets his face to face with Donald Trump. The President praising the relationship with Australia – “there’s never been anybody better.” The pair are signing a critical minerals deal. @7NewsSydney pic.twitter.com/vEGHE8JM6d — Rob Scott (@Rob7Scott) October 20, 2025
Critical minerals strategy
Resolution described buying the Horse Heaven project earlier this year as a “transformative event” for the company, citing the rising strategic importance of antimony and tungsten.
Antimony and tungsten are among 50 minerals deemed by the federal government to be “critical” to the country’s economic and national security. Both minerals are used in military munitions, among other things. There are currently no mined sources of either mineral in the United States.
China, the world’s leading antimony producer, banned exports of the mineral to the United States last year, prompting efforts by the Trump administration to fast track projects that would create a domestic supply chain, as Valley Lookout reported.
The federal government’s interest in antimony has netted Perpetua Resources — Resolution’s neighbor to the east of the Horse Heaven Project — $80 million in federal funding to advance the mine. Resolution hopes to also tap into the funding programs, which are administered by the Department of War.
Although antimony is of high strategic value, the economics of mining it are dependent on gold. Perpetua’s mineral reserves contain an estimated 150 million pounds of antimony, but nearly all of the multi-billion dollar mine’s value lies in 4.8 million ounces of gold it plans to extract.
High investor interest noted by regulators
Resolution has also recently gained the attention of private investors, with $27 million raised over the last two months to finance exploration at Horse Heaven. Australian billionaire John Hancock is among the company’s investors.
Last week, Resolution saw a “significant increase” in volume and share prices doubled from about four cents per share on Oct. 13 to nine cents per share on Oct. 15, prompting an inquiry from the Australian Stock Exchange.
Aharon Zaetz, the company’s executive director, said he is “delighted” with the high level of interest and added that Resolution is working to be listed on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, making it more widely available to American investors.
“We are aiming to be trading shoulder to shoulder with the likes of our next door neighbour (sic), Perpetua Resources, and other U.S. critical metals giants such as MP Materials Inc.,” Zaetz said.
Perpetua’s Stibnite mine is in line to become the only mine in the country that produces antimony. The mine was approved earlier this year by the Payette National Forest, but three years of construction must be completed to make the mine operational.
Exploration timeline
Even if Resolution’s Horse Heaven exploration reveals mineralization worthy of developing a mine, the company expects to be years away from extracting gold and critical minerals.
It would first need to submit a mining plan to the Boise National Forest, which would lead an environmental review of the plan alongside local, state, and federal agencies.
Perpetua began exploration on its Stibnite project in 2009 and drilled 390 boreholes before submitting a mining plan in 2016. The company spent more than $400 million permitting the project.
Horse Heaven is currently Resolution’s only project in the United States. The company is also exploring potential uranium, antimony, gold, copper, and silver deposits in Australia.
