Antares Metals has secured $2.57 million to fund maiden drilling at its Quinns project and continued exploration across Queensland and Western Australia. The raise comes with substantial potential dilution, with more than half the shares and all attaching options still requiring shareholder approval.
- $2.57 million two-tranche placement at $0.005 per share
- Maiden drilling funded at Quinns gold and copper-zinc project
- Tranche 2 and 257 million attaching options require approval
- Issue price represents discounts of 16.7% to recent market measures
- Directors commit $37,500 alongside professional and sophisticated investors
$2.57 Million Placement Targets Quinns Drilling
Antares Metals Limited (ASX:AM5) has locked in $2.57 million before costs through a two-tranche placement, giving the explorer funding to begin maiden drilling at its Quinns Gold and Copper-Zinc VMS project in Western Australia. The capital will also support field exploration at the 2,003km² Mt Isa North copper-uranium project in Queensland, along with existing commitments at Ravensthorpe and Katanning.
Managing Director Terry Topping said the raise would fund drilling at Quinns “at a time when we're generating our best exploration results to date”. The company said target-definition work completed during FY26 had confirmed a series of priority drill targets, although the announcement did not provide drilling results or a resource estimate from those targets.
Tranche Structure Leaves $1.5 Million Conditional
The placement will issue 514.03 million new shares at $0.005 each. Tranche 1 covers 214.03 million shares and raises $1.07 million using Antares’ existing ASX Listing Rule 7.1 and 7.1A capacity. Tranche 2 covers a further 300 million shares and raises $1.5 million, subject to shareholder approval at a meeting expected on 19 October 2026.
The issue price sits 16.7% below Antares’ last closing price of $0.006 on 7 September, matches the stated 15-day volume-weighted average price, and represents a 23.1% discount to the 30-day VWAP of $0.0065. That discount helps explain the immediate funding appeal, while also making the scale of the proposed share issuance important for existing holders.
Free Options Add Further Potential Dilution
Participants will receive one free unquoted option for every two new shares, creating 257.01 million options in total. Each option carries a $0.012 exercise price and expires three years after issue, but all attaching options require shareholder approval because Antares’ available placement capacity is being used for the shares in Tranche 1.
Directors Terence Topping, Bruno Seneque and Richard Maddocks have committed $37,500 in aggregate to Tranche 2 on the same terms as other participants. Their proposed subscriptions cover 7.5 million shares and 3.75 million attaching options, and also require shareholder approval under Listing Rule 10.11.
Lead Manager Securities Expand Approval List
Templar Wealth is entitled to a 6% placement fee, a $25,000 lead manager fee and a 1.5% management fee on subscriptions from parties on the directors’ list, with some fees potentially payable in shares rather than cash. Shareholders will also be asked to approve up to 148.51 million unquoted options for the lead manager or its nominees, exercisable at $0.012 for three years, as well as shares that may be issued in satisfaction of fees.
The proposed meeting therefore covers more than the $1.5 million second tranche: it also includes ratification of Tranche 1, the attaching options, director participation and lead manager securities. Antares said its stated use of funds may be reallocated depending on exploration results, market and operating conditions, and other opportunities.
Bottom Line?
The raise funds a clear exploration catalyst at Quinns, but the investment case now turns on shareholder approvals, the final securities issued and whether maiden drilling can convert targets into evidence of mineralisation.
Questions in the middle?
- Will shareholders approve Tranche 2 and the full package of attaching and lead manager options?
- How much dilution will existing holders face once the proposed shares and options are issued?
- Will maiden drilling at Quinns produce results strong enough to justify the discounted capital raising?