Antipa Minerals confirms major resource upgrade at Minyari Dome gold-copper project
Antipa Minerals (ASX: AZY) has confirmed a substantial upgrade to the mineral resource estimate (MRE) for its wholly-owned Minyari Dome gold-copper project in the Paterson Province of Western Australia.
The new figure sits at 47.6 million tonnes grading 1.51 grams per tonne gold, 0.18% copper, 0.43g/t silver and 0.03% cobalt for 2.3 million ounces of gold, 84,000t of copper, 661,000oz of silver and 13,000t of cobalt (2.9Moz gold equivalent at 1.90g/t).
The upgrade represents an increase of 573,000oz (or 33%) on the previous estimate released in May and a jump in resource confidence for 53% of the material, with approximately 68% of Minyari Dome’s MRE now in the indicated category.
Seven deposits
The seven deposits that contributed to the upgraded MRE are distributed along a strike corridor 3.2 kilometres long.
Of these, the Minyari, WACA and GEO-01 deposits contain the majority of the resource, hosting 2.2Moz (or 95%) of total gold ounces.
Maiden resource estimates for the GEO-01 and Minyari North deposits proximal to the 1.9Moz Minyari deposit add an extra 171,000oz of gold to the total.
Standalone potential
The resource upgrade is believed to have substantially boosted the scale of the Minyari Dome project and further enhanced the standalone development potential confirmed by a scoping study released in May 2022.
The study focused on the construction of a scalable open-pit and underground operation, with resources starting from the surface and several deposits remaining open in multiple directions.
The project’s potential is underpinned by its strategic location just 35km from Newcrest Mining’s Telfer gold-copper-silver mine and 22Mtpa processing plant and 50km along strike from Greatland Gold’s Havieron project.
Enhanced value
Antipa managing director Roger Mason said the MRE upgrade enhances the value of what has become a highly attractive and strategically-important project.
“With gold prices reaching all-time highs and market momentum remaining strong, the value of these newly defined ounces is more pronounced than ever,” he said.
“Corporate consolidation within the Paterson Province has put a spotlight on the region’s strategic importance as a world-class gold-copper district and this activity, combined with our own progress, underscores the opportunity for large-scale developments and strengthens our position within this highly prospective area.”
He said the company was armed with a strong balance sheet, keeping it well-funded to progress Minyari Dome through advanced studies towards a mine development decision.