Mount Clement’s Future Hinges on Marquee’s Yantai Jinao Partnership Success

Strategic Collaboration with a Global Antimony Leader

Marquee Resources Limited (ASX – MQR) has taken a significant step forward in developing its Mount Clement Antimony Project by signing a non-binding, non-exclusive Memorandum of Collaboration with Yantai Jinao Environmental Protection Technology Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of the prominent Chinese Yantai Jinao Holding Group. This partnership aims to leverage Yantai Jinao’s advanced metallurgical expertise and processing technologies to accelerate the project’s progression through critical testwork and flowsheet development phases.

Yantai Jinao is a major player in the antimony and non-ferrous metals sector, with a strong track record in mineral development, recycling, and technological innovation. Their facilities in China process complex ores and industrial waste, producing significant quantities of antimony and other metals annually. This expertise is expected to be instrumental in refining the processing approach for Mount Clement’s ore, which contains antimony alongside gold, silver, copper, and lead.

Technical and Commercial Milestones Ahead

The collaboration will commence with the shipment of a 50-kilogram representative ore sample from Mount Clement to Yantai Jinao’s facilities for bench-scale testwork. Should results warrant, pilot-scale testing will follow. The joint effort will focus on developing a flowsheet that can produce a saleable antimony concentrate meeting market specifications, while also mapping out a pathway from concept to pre-front-end engineering design (pre-FEED).

Alongside technical work, the parties will explore potential investment opportunities by Yantai Jinao into Marquee or the Mount Clement project itself, as well as possible offtake arrangements for future concentrate production. Importantly, the memorandum is non-exclusive, allowing Marquee to continue discussions with other strategic, funding, and offtake partners, preserving flexibility as the project advances.

Regional Significance and Resource Context

Mount Clement is strategically located adjacent to Black Cat Syndicate’s Eastern Hills Antimony Mineral Resource, which is Australia’s largest undeveloped antimony deposit and ranks as the fourth largest nationally. Marquee’s own recently announced JORC Inferred Mineral Resource at Mount Clement stands at 1.14 million tonnes at 0.60% antimony equivalent, containing approximately 6,800 tonnes of antimony equivalent metal, with the majority accessible via open-pit mining.

This district-scale mineralisation underscores the potential for Mount Clement to become a significant contributor to the global antimony supply chain, a metal critical for flame retardants, alloys, and specialty chemicals. The collaboration with Yantai Jinao could provide the technical and commercial foundation necessary to unlock this potential efficiently and sustainably.

Looking Forward

Marquee’s Executive Chairman Charles Thomas highlighted the value of partnering with a globally recognised leader in antimony processing, noting the benefits of a capital-light, credible technical pathway that maintains Marquee’s strategic optionality. The phased approach outlined in the memorandum sets clear milestones over the next 12 months and beyond, including pilot testwork, techno-economic assessments, and negotiation of definitive agreements.

As the project moves into these next stages, the market will be watching closely to see how this collaboration translates into tangible progress, investment, and eventual production. The non-exclusive nature of the agreement also leaves the door open for further partnerships, which could be pivotal in scaling Mount Clement towards commercialisation.