With activities at the flagship Minyari Dome Project, Antipa Minerals Ltd (ASX:AZY) is spearheading exploration for gold, copper, silver and cobalt in the resource-rich Paterson Province.
The Paterson Province in Western Australia spans some 30,000 square kilometres to the east of the Hamersley Basin and southwest of the Canning Basin.
It is acknowledged as highly prospective for gold-copper and base metal mineral systems, attracting interest from the mining sector, including major players, due to its untapped potential.
The province is characterised by a diverse geological composition and is home to Early to Middle Proterozoic high-grade metamorphic rocks, both acid and basic intrusive rocks, shelf sediments and a selection of minor younger granite intrusive rocks.
Highly prospective for gold-copper
The northwest segment of the Paterson Province features poorly exposed Neoproterozoic sedimentary successions, renowned for hosting significant deposits of gold-copper, base metals and uranium.
Key deposits within the area include Telfer, Havieron and Magnum for gold-copper, Nifty and Maroochydore for base metals, and Kintyre for uranium, underscoring the region's rich mineral endowment.
This geological diversity, combined with the presence of substantial mineral deposits, positions the Paterson Province as a critical area for exploration and development within Western Australia's mining industry.
Enter Antipa
Antipa Minerals is positioning itself as a front-runner in the mining industry in the Paterson Province with the 100%-owned Minyari Dome Project.
The project, which sprawls across 877 square kilometres, is renowned for its Minyari and WACA deposits and gives the company a good shot at further unlocking the vast potential of the region.
In May 2022, Antipa Minerals announced an updated mineral resource estimate (MRE), which revealed the project's considerable resources - 1.8 million ounces of gold, 64,300 tonnes of copper, 584,000 ounces of silver and 11,100 tonnes of cobalt.
This update underscored the project's substantial contribution to the company's asset portfolio and the broader mining sector.
Promising study outcomes
August 2022 saw Antipa Minerals disclose the promising outcomes of a scoping study for the Minyari Dome Project.
This study illuminated the project's viability as a standalone gold mining and processing operation.
Key findings included an initial mining inventory of 21.4 million tonnes at 1.6 g/t gold for 1.1 million ounces and a processing life exceeding seven years at a 3 million tonnes per annum throughput.
The study also highlights a simple, non-refractory metallurgy that facilitates a standard CIL process plant, achieving an average gold recovery of 90%.
This scoping study also projects an attractive economic outlook with an average All-In Sustaining Cost (AISC) of A$1,475 per ounce (US$1,062/ounce) and a total pre-production capital cost of A$275 million.
The project boasts a pre-tax Net Present Value (NPV7) of A$392 million and a post-tax NPV7 of A$278 million, alongside a robust Internal Rate of Return (IRR) and a rapid post-tax payback period of around 2.5 years from first production.
Antipa Minerals' exploration successes extend beyond mere numbers. The Minyari and WACA deposits demonstrate significant high-grade gold-copper mineralisation, with mineralisation at Minyari beginning mere metres from the surface and extending over 670 vertical metres.
The WACA deposit, just 700 metres southwest of Minyari, further adds to the project's allure with its own considerable mineral resources.
The company has executed some sound strategic manoeuvres, including the reacquisition of sole rights to the Tetris, Pacman and Pixel tenements in February 2023, which have expanded its controlled land holding in the Paterson Province.