Antipa Minerals has pushed the Fiama North lode to 160 metres strike and 200 metres depth at its Minyari Project, delivering promising gold-copper assay results and advancing a major 41,000-metre drilling campaign.
- Fiama North lode extended 160m strike, 200m depth
- Notable intersections include 26m at 1.5 g/t gold, 0.09% copper
- Phase 1 drilling targets new discoveries and resource growth
- A$400k in government grants supports exploration
- Ongoing drilling at Tim’s Dome, AL01, Mollie prospects
Fiama North Lode Expansion Signals Resource Upside
Antipa Minerals Ltd (ASX:AZY) has delivered a robust start to its CY2026 drilling program at the Minyari Gold-Copper Project in Western Australia's Paterson Province, extending the Fiama North lode to approximately 160 metres along strike and 200 metres below surface. The lode remains open in all directions, underscoring the prospectivity of this newly identified zone just 65 metres north of the original Fiama deposit.
Among the standout results, drill hole 26XMDC0960 returned 26 metres at 1.5 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and 0.09% copper from 275 metres, including higher-grade intervals such as 10 metres at 2.6 g/t gold and 0.12% copper from 290 metres. Similarly, 26XMDC0961 intersected 22 metres at 0.9 g/t gold and 0.23% copper from 135 metres, featuring 3 metres at 1.5 g/t gold, 0.54% copper, and 1.2 g/t silver from 151 metres. These assays, derived from reverse circulation (RC) drilling, highlight the lode’s potential to contribute materially to Antipa’s resource base.
Broad Drilling Campaign Targets Multiple Prospects
The Fiama North extension is part of an ambitious Phase 1 CY2026 program encompassing 321 holes for 41,000 metres, combining air core, RC, and diamond core drilling across the 4,500 square kilometre Minyari Project. To date, 106 holes totaling 13,207 metres have been completed, with assay results from the first batch of 15 RC holes at Fiama now reported.
Drilling is also actively progressing at other high-potential targets within the project. At Tim’s Dome, located 30 kilometres southwest of Minyari and near Greatland Resources’ Telfer mine, RC and diamond drilling are underway to test a 1-kilometre strike length electromagnetic anomaly within the Telfer Middle Vale Reef host rock. Tim’s Dome holds a 110,000-ounce gold Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) and shares geological affinities with the prolific Telfer system.
Meanwhile, air core drilling has commenced along the 4-kilometre AL01 gold-copper corridor north of Minyari, aiming to systematically test multiple large-scale geochemical and geophysical anomalies previously constrained by heritage surveys. The Mollie target, a base metal and tungsten skarn prospect 30 kilometres southeast of Telfer, is also slated for diamond drilling, supported by a recent A$220,000 Exploration Incentive Scheme (EIS) grant.
Government Grants and Strategic Positioning in Paterson Province
Antipa has secured a total of A$400,000 in co-funded drilling grants from the Western Australian Government’s EIS, split between Tim’s Dome and Mollie. This non-dilutive funding accelerates exploration in a region renowned for world-class deposits, including Greatland’s Telfer and Havieron projects, Rio Tinto-Sumitomo’s Winu deposit, and Cyprium’s Nifty Mine.
Antipa’s Managing Director Roger Mason emphasised the strategic importance of the Minyari Project’s location and the early success of the CY2026 drilling campaign. “Fiama continues to show very high potential within the broader Minyari Dome mineral system, with these results suggesting strong potential for further resource growth,” Mason said. He highlighted the multiple near-term exploration catalysts underway, including at Tim’s Dome and AL01, which could unlock further district-scale gold-copper discoveries.
Resource Growth and Development Trajectory
The Minyari Dome currently hosts a 2.5 million ounce gold resource at 1.6 g/t gold in the Indicated category, with total Minyari Project Mineral Resources standing at 2.9 million ounces of gold, 91,000 tonnes of copper, and significant silver and cobalt credits. The ongoing drilling program aims both to extend known mineralisation at Minyari Dome and to test greenfield targets for new discoveries, underpinning an advancing Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) expected to complete in Q3 2026.
While assay results from the first batch are encouraging, Antipa cautions that true widths of mineralisation are not always known and further assay batches and geological interpretation will refine the resource model. The company plans to continue progressive assay reporting as drilling advances.
Bottom Line?
Antipa’s latest drilling extends key gold-copper lodes and advances multiple targets, but the true scale of resource growth hinges on upcoming assay batches and geological modelling.
Questions in the middle?
- How will ongoing assay results at Tim’s Dome and AL01 influence Antipa’s resource growth trajectory?
- What impact will the government’s Exploration Incentive Scheme grants have on the pace and scope of Antipa’s CY2026 drilling?
- To what extent can the Fiama North lode extension translate into a meaningful upgrade of the Minyari Project’s Mineral Resource Estimate?