05 March 2025
The Australian - Antipa now the sole owner of Wilki Gold Project
By Special Report
- Newmont Corporation has withdrawn from the Wilki Project farm-in agreement following its divestment of both Telfer and Havieron
- Antipa now retains full ownership of the project
- Planned Wilki Project drill testing to take place in H1 CY2025
Special Report: Antipa will take full, 100% ownership of the Wilki Project in WA’s prolific Paterson Province, giving it access to drill across a total 100% land package that now comes to 2,540 square-kilometres.
It follows farm-in partner Newmont’s move to divest its Telfer operation – one of Australia’s largest gold mines – and majority interest in the Havieron development to Greatland Gold PLC (AIM:GGP) last December.
The return of the Wilki Project gives Antipa the right to control its destiny at a Project which has already seen millions spent on it at no cost to the ASX junior.
Antipa (ASX: AZY) originally entered into the $60m Wilki Project farm-in agreement with Newcrest in February 2020, who met its initial $6m exploration commitment by November 2021 and elected to assume management of the Project.
The Wilki farm-in agreement was acquired by Newmont in 2023 as part of its acquisition of Newcrest, which allowed it to earn a 51% interest by spending a further $10m before the end of February 2025 with an option to extend this deadline to February 2027.
AZY has an incredible head start for its own investigations. Of the $10m, an additional $6m had been spent on Wilki and no joint venture interest had been earned by Newmont.
A grand total of $12m has been invested into the 1,430km2 Project since 2020, funded entirely by Newcrest and Newmont.
The Project is home to a 103,500oz gold resource at 1.3 g/t within 20-30km of AZY’s 2.3Moz Minyari Dome asset, where an updated Scoping Study has indicated the potential for a substantial standalone gold development opportunity.
With gold prices at record highs, that has put AZY on the radar as both a future developer and potential takeover target of Greatland, which remains desperately short of the ore needed to fill its 22Mtpa Telfer mill long term.
Major drilling campaign
Now that AZY retains 100% ownership and management of the asset – effective from March 3 – it plans to continue with the planned drill testing of the Parklands target, scheduled for the first half of CY2025.
Any discovery of note could have major implications for Antipa and the broader Paterson Province, given both the proximity of the ground to Greatland’s newly acquired infrastructure and Antipa’s Minyari Dome standalone gold development opportunity.
Parklands is defined by a Telfer-sized surface geochemical anomaly, just 10km northeast of Greatland’s Telfer gold, copper and silver processing facility and situated under ~15m of cover.
It is one of two large-scale, high priority walk-up greenfield gold targets, the other being Jezabeel, located only 4km northeast of the Telfer plant.
A heritage survey has been completed at Parklands, paving the way for an upcoming 16,000m drilling campaign comprising around 140 air core holes, up to 30 RC holes and up to four diamond core drill holes.
Sole funding exploration program
“We are very pleased to retain full, unencumbered ownership of the Wilki Project and to be in a position to provide clarity on our near-term exploration plans for this exciting ground connecting our Minyari Dome to Telfer and Havieron,” AZY Managing Director and CEO Roger Mason said.
“Wilki contains a number of highly prospective gold targets, and we are particularly excited to drill test Parklands, a standout surface geochemical gold target, with no existing drill holes that we have been eager to further explore.”
AZY is in a strong financial position with ~$36.5m in cash as of December 31, 2024, to sole fund a number of CY2025 exploration programs. Antipa’s large cash balance will be further boosted by a cash payment from Newmont of ~A$590,000, a requirement of the farm-in withdrawal terms.
“With Newmont’s withdrawal, we are well positioned to confidently move forward with our calendar year 2025 exploration program,” Mason added.
This article was developed in collaboration with Antipa Minerals, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.
This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions
Find Out More