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The Australian - Antipa keeps drilling to grow 2.5Moz Minyari Project gold and copper resource

By Special Report

• Antipa Minerals is on track to grow the already impressive 2.5Moz resource at the Minyari Gold and Copper Project

• Results from drilling at the Minella, GEO-01 Central and Minyari South zones show resource extensions on the cards

• Regional and resource definition drilling also deliver ahead of PFS
  
  Special Report: The final assay results have returned for the first phase of a 2025 drill program at Antipa Minerals’ Minyari Gold and Copper Project, and they show the 2.5Moz bounty is on track to get larger. 

Antipa Minerals (ASX: AZY) , which has seen its shares lift 143% this year amid gold’s run beyond US$4000/oz, has received results for all holes in the initial 35,158m program, with results also returned for 12,097m of an 18,340m resource definition drilling program.

Another 128 holes have been completed for 11,545m in a 25-35,000m Phase 2 program, with assay results already back for 3201m.

Importantly, drilling has found wide intercepts ranging up to 67m at 1.1g/t gold and 0.33% copper from 159m at the Minella zone, including 23m at 2.4 g/t gold, while substantial extensions have been identified at the key GEO-01 Central and Minyari South deposits.

Air core results have also lit up the new Reaper-Poblano-Serrano trend, where Phase 2 drilling will follow up a 2km long gold anomaly.

The best results in the current batch came from Minella, with highlights including:

• 67m at 1.1 g/t Au and 0.33% Cu from 159m in 25MYC0805, including 23m at 2.4 g/t Au and 0.65% Cu from 200m, also including 2m at 9.8 g/t Au and 0.87% Cu from 220.0m; and

• 72m at 0.5 g/t Au and 0.08% Cu from 120.0m in 25MYC0809, including 13m at 1.3 g/t Au and 0.18% Cu from 173m.

Hits at GEO-01 Central included 27m at 0.8g/t Au and 0.05% Cu, with thinner intercepts within that of 1m at 5.8g/t Au, 0.16% Cu and 2m at 3.7g/t Au and 0.18% Cu, and at Minyari South of 31m at 0.7g/t Au and 0.1% Cu from 70m and 24m at 0.8g/t Au, 0.06% Cu from 101m.

“These latest results from Minella continue to demonstrate the strength of the Minyari system and the growth potential that exists immediately adjacent to the planned Minyari open pits,” Antipa Managing Director Roger Mason said.

“The strong gold and copper grades intersected here reinforce the resource expansion potential within close proximity to the proposed development footprint.

“When combined with the latest results from GEO-01 and Minyari South, which confirm extensions to other zones of mineralisation within the broader Minyari Dome system, we have confidence in the geology’s capacity for additional and sustained resource growth.”

Early days

Mason also labelled early air core results from the Reaper-Poblano-Serrano (RPS) trend, around 30km north of Minyari, encouraging.

RPS highlights included:

• 36m at 0.5g/t Au and 326ppm Cu from 68m in 25MYA0449, including 4m at 0.8g/t Au and 240ppm Cu from 72m, and 12m at 0.7g/t Au and 486ppm Cu from 84m;

• 56m at 0.2g/t Au and 199ppm Cu from 56m in 25MYA0447, including 4m at 0.3g/t Au and 221ppm Cu from 72m, 4m at

• 0.5g/t Au and 359ppm Cu from 84m, and 4m at 0.3g/t Au and 187ppm Cu from 108m;

• 20m at 0.2g/t Au and 411ppm Cu from 32m in 25MYA0447, including 12m at 0.3g/t Au and 405ppm Cu from 32m;

• 8m at 0.2g/t Au from 40m in 25MYA0449, including 4m at 0.4 g/t from 44m; and

• 20m at 0.1g/t Au and 171ppm Cu from 40m in 25MYA0459, including 8m at 0.2g/t Au and 272ppm Cu from 48m.

That’s all on top of resource definition drilling at Minyari Dome, which will increase the confidence in the Minyari Dome resource ahead of a mineral resource update, expected to be completed soon.

Best resource definition hits included:

• 5m at 2.6g/t Au and 0.10% Cu from 679m in 21MYCD0216, including 4m at 29.7g/t Au and 1.10% Cu from 683m;

• 0.3m at 63.4g/t Au and 3.27% Cu, 5.7g/t silver and 0.11% cobalt from 619.7m in 21MYCD0216W1; and

• 7.5m at 2.3g/t Au and 0.13% copper from 151.5m in 25MYD0549, including 3.0m at 5.7g/t gold and 0.30% copper from 151.5m.

“Early air core results from the Reaper-Poblano-Serrano trend are also very encouraging, providing our first indications of a new mineral system that warrants immediate follow-up during Phase 2 drilling,” Mason said.

“In parallel, PFS workstreams are progressing as we continue to grow, refine, and de-risk this high-quality, stand-alone gold-copper development opportunity.”

Study on the way

Antipa’s latest drill results are all key to the upcoming Mineral Resource update and Pre-feasibility Study (PFS) for Minyari Dome, with key drilling activities now including geotechnical drilling and sterilisation drilling to assess ground conditions and infrastructure placement.

The PFS could improve on the 2024 scoping study for the future mine in WA’s Paterson Province, which suggested a $306m build could deliver a project producing 1.3Moz over its first decade at average all in sustaining costs of $1721/oz.

A post-tax NPV of $598m and IRR of 46% was calculated at gold prices of just US$2100/oz, which is almost half of today’s record levels.

Even at US$2800/oz, Minyari Dome delivered a post-tax NPV of $1.2bn and 79% IRR.

With a larger resource and prices for gold and copper scaling to new highs since, the PFS could significantly improve on those outcomes.

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.

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