26 August 2024
The Australian - Antipa puts Calibre in shop window with 19% gold increase to Plus 2.5Moz
- Antipa’s Citadel Joint Venture Project Calibre and nearby Magnum resources now total a beefy 2.84Moz of gold + copper
- Substantial expansion potential with mineralisation at both deposits open in multiple directions
- Antipa’s 100% owned Minyari Dome Project also set to grow, with an updated resource due soon.
- Newmont’s looming Telfer plus Havieron sale and Rio’s rumoured hunt for a JV partner or buyer at Winu leaves M&A interest on the table in the Paterson
Special Report: Antipa Minerals has increased its Calibre resource in WA’s Paterson Province by 19% to reach over 2.5Moz of gold.
The updated MRE for Antipa Minerals' (ASX:AZY) Calibre now sits at an Inferred 111Mt at 0.86g/t gold-equivalent (Aueq) containing 2.5Moz gold, 115,000t copper and 1.6Moz silver, using a 0.4g/t Aueq cut-off grade. Just 1.3km from Calibre, the Magnum deposit adds an additional 340,000oz gold, 57,800t copper and 511,000oz silver.
There is substantial resource expansion potential, with gold-copper-silver mineralisation remaining open in several directions at both deposits.
The two deposits are just 45km east of Rio Tinto’s (ASX:RIO) Winu copper-gold-silver development project and the Ngapakarra gold-copper deposit, on the Citadel JV (Rio: 68%, Antipa: 32%).
This Calibre MRE upgrade in conjunction with upcoming MRE and Scoping Study updates for its Minyari Dome Project boosts Antipa’s profile further in a region hot for consolidation.
The world’s biggest gold miner Newmont is expected to sell its Telfer gold mine and 70% share in the Havieron JV with Greatland Gold by the end of the year, while Rio is rumoured to be looking for a JV partner or buyer at Winu.
Either scenario would heighten the significance of both Calibre and Minyari as strategic assets for Antipa if one or two savvy players are looking to pull the region’s major deposits together in a province-scale consolidation strategy.
Calibre’s calibre
A total of 15 new drillholes were completed in the Calibre deposit area, with some drill holes testing shallow resource extension targets in the southern region.
Both Calibre and Magnum represent very large-scale mineral systems with material potential exploration upside under just 70-80m of predominantly free-digging, post-mineralisation cover.
Deposit strike lengths are up to 1.8km, with thicknesses up to 480m – and each deposit’s mineralisation is open in several directions.
Shake up in the Paterson
The current landscape was built upon the prolific and long-running Telfer gold-copper-silver mine, which recently changed hands from Newcrest to Newmont (ASX:NEM) in a $26 billion merger.
Following the merger, Newmont has put the 32Moz (pre-mining) Telfer mine and its Havieron stake up for sale, deeming them non-core assets. That sale could put a premium on Antipa, who now boast 2.8Moz of gold and 120kt of copper with further resource growth coming soon.
Calibre at more than 2.5Moz, also represents a standalone development prospect in its own right, especially once the nearby Magnum deposit is taken into account, as does Minyari’s soon to be expanded 1.8Moz’s and 64kt of copper just 35km up the road from Telfer.
Telfer has been crying out for a nearby major discovery to extend its life and keep the ~400,000ozpa gold-copper producer operating in full flight, with Newmont expecting its Paterson assets to be sold towards the end of this year.
Elsewhere in the region, AZY farm-in and JV assets include:
- Paterson, where IGO (ASX:IGO) will spend $30m for a 70% interest (over $9M spent to-date)
- Wilki, with Newmont to spend $60m for a 75% interest (over $10M spent to-date)
AZY says its overall Paterson Province strategy is to deliver both greenfield discoveries and increase brownfield gold and/or copper resources with the ultimate aim of generating a short to medium term production opportunity.
“Exploration activities within the Citadel JV are complementary to this strategy,” the explorer says.
Antipa Managing Director Roger Mason says the update reaffirms that its Calibre discovery is a very large-scale gold-copper-silver mineral system with significant growth potential.
“The scale of the Calibre deposit in conjunction with its off-the-shelf metallurgical characteristics and shallow, predominantly free-digging, post-mineralisation cover, should suit a potential large scale open pit mining development scenario,” he says.
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 decision
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