Antipa Minerals’ Fiama North Lode Extends to 200m Depth, Stays Open

A newly identified gold-copper lode sitting 65 metres north of an existing deposit at Antipa Minerals’ (ASX: AZY) Minyari Project has now returned multiple significant intercepts across 160 metres of strike and 200 metres of depth, and it remains open in every direction. The company released the latest batch of assay results from Fiama North on 28 July 2026, adding a new dimension to the wholly owned Minyari Dome system in Western Australia’s Paterson Province. The results arrive mid-way through a 321-hole, 41,000-metre Phase 1 CY2026 drilling campaign, with three rigs still active across multiple target areas. What follows covers the Fiama North intercepts in detail, the zone’s polymetallic character, how it fits within the broader drill program, the current resource base, and the specific catalysts investors should watch through the rest of CY2026.

What Fiama North returned: grades, depths, and what the geometry reveals

The latest batch comprised 15 RC holes for 3,352 metres, with 10 holes targeting Fiama North and the remainder testing the adjacent main Fiama lode. The intercepts speak for themselves.

The 10-metre intercept at 1.3 g/t gold from 147 metres included a high-grade sub-interval worth isolating:

1 metre at 5.3 g/t gold and 0.49% copper from within the Fiama North lode at depth.

That high-grade hit matters because it confirms grade concentration within a broader mineralised envelope. The earlier shallow intercept (24.7 metres at 1.4 g/t gold from 39.3 metres) first flagged Fiama North as a genuine lode; the latest deeper results now trace it vertically as well as laterally. Current drilling defines the zone to 160 metres along strike and 200 metres below surface.

Both lobes remain open along strike and down dip. That open-ended status is the detail that carries the most weight: every future hole targeting Fiama North has the potential to extend the resource envelope rather than close it off.

Why Fiama North carries extra value as a polymetallic zone

Gold grades at Fiama North are not the full picture. Copper grades across the latest intercepts sit consistently in the 0.20-0.25% range, making this a polymetallic zone rather than a pure gold play. That consistency has three direct economic implications:

• Gold-equivalent uplift: When copper by-product credits are applied, the effective per-ounce value of the zone increases. Gold-equivalent (AuEq) calculation converts copper and other metals into their gold-grade equivalent, producing a single figure that more accurately reflects total economic value. At the project level, the Minyari Dome hosts approximately 3.6 million ounces AuEq versus 2.9 million ounces Au, illustrating how copper contributes roughly 24% additional equivalent ounces.
• By-product credit potential: Consistent copper at Fiama North positions the zone to contribute meaningfully to future mine-plan economics through by-product revenue streams.

ASX copper stocks have attracted renewed institutional attention through 2026 as COMEX copper futures pushed to record levels, a backdrop that amplifies the economic significance of consistent copper credits within gold-copper systems like Minyari Dome.

• Geological alignment with the Telfer analogue: The Paterson Province hosts the long-life Telfer gold-copper mine (operated by Newmont/Greatland Resources), and Fiama North’s polymetallic character is consistent with that regional geological setting. This reinforces Minyari’s positioning as a gold-copper system, not a single-metal story.

How Fiama North fits into a 41,000-metre campaign built for district-scale discovery

Fiama North is one active front within a systematically organised multi-target program. The Phase 1 CY2026 campaign, initiated in April 2026 and ongoing as of July 2026, deploys three concurrent rigs across air core, RC, and diamond methods. Its scope:

• Minyari main system: Ongoing RC and diamond drilling targeting resource growth at the core Minyari Dome deposit
• Fiama and Fiama North: Strike and depth extension drilling across both lodes, with open-ended mineralisation in every direction
• Tim’s Dome: Structural target drilling at a satellite position considered geologically analogous to Telfer, within trucking distance of a future Minyari development
• AL01 corridor: Air core screening across approximately 4 kilometres of largely untested gold-copper corridor north of Minyari
• Minyari North repeat structures: Testing for additional mineralised zones at depth within the broader dome architecture

Managing director Roger Mason has stated that the 41,000-metre program targets multiple priority resource growth and discovery targets, all within trucking distance of the Minyari Dome development opportunity.

With three rigs still active and multiple structurally open zones across the tenement, the program is positioned to generate sustained newsflow through the remainder of CY2026.

The resource foundation the 2026 drilling program is building on

The current drill campaign is not starting from scratch. An updated Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE), an independent assessment of the quantity and grade of mineralisation at a deposit, was released in April 2026 for Minyari Dome. The quality shift in that update matters as much as the size.

The Indicated category, the higher-confidence classification within the JORC resource framework, now represents approximately 85% of gold ounces, up from 65%. That proportion matters because it signals improving resource confidence, which feeds directly into Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) inputs. The PFS on Minyari Dome is underway, with metallurgical test-work updates released in July 2026.

The gold price outlook heading into the second half of CY2026 provides meaningful context for resource-stage developers like Antipa, with JPMorgan projecting a Q4 2026 average of US$4,500 per ounce and the broader institutional consensus sitting at the bullish end of that range.

The JORC Code resource classification framework requires ASX-listed companies to report Indicated and Inferred mineral resource estimates under standardised minimum standards, with an independent competent person sign-off serving as the gating requirement before figures can be disclosed to the market.

Fiama North results are not yet incorporated into the current MRE. Any future resource update will therefore have the opportunity to grow both the total ounce count and the Indicated proportion further.

Five catalysts that will drive Antipa’s newsflow through the rest of 2026

1. Fiama North strike and depth extension results. The zone is open in all directions. Each new hole is potentially resource-material. The intercepts investors should watch for are those that demonstrate continuity of grade over broader widths at depth, confirming the lode is not narrowing as it extends.
2. Tim’s Dome results. This satellite target sits within trucking distance of a future Minyari development. Results demonstrating scale, grade continuity, and structural repetition of the Minyari Dome mineralisation style would be significant for adding satellite ounces to the project.
3. AL01 corridor air core results. Screening across approximately 4 kilometres of untested gold-copper corridor could identify anomalies convertible to RC and diamond targets. A positive outcome here would open a new discovery front analogous to how Fiama North emerged.
4. An updated MRE incorporating 2026 drilling results. The current base of 2.9 Moz Au and 3.6 Moz AuEq does not include Fiama North. An update demonstrating growth beyond those figures, particularly with further Indicated conversion, would be a direct re-rating event.
5. PFS milestones. Mining scenario outputs, gold-equivalent economics, and copper production forecasts will define the standalone development case for Minyari Dome and its potential to attract development partners or transaction interest.

Structural demand for gold from central banks, running at approximately 1,000 tonnes per year and increasingly driven by reserve diversification away from the US dollar, underpins the price environment that makes a 2.9-million-ounce resource in a tier-one jurisdiction like Western Australia strategically attractive to major producers.

Three rigs remain active and the program is expected to generate continuous newsflow through the remainder of CY2026, making the Minyari story a running series of potential re-rating events rather than a single announcement.

Fiama North is the latest signal in a project still mapping its own boundaries

Fiama North’s open-ended geometry and consistent polymetallic character represent ongoing discovery potential rather than a defined resource increment. The zone’s ultimate contribution to the MRE remains ahead.

The broader picture is a 100%-owned, 2.9 million-ounce gold resource with an active PFS, a large ongoing drill program, and a district setting analogous to Telfer, all pointing toward a project still in the process of defining its full scale. The degree to which the 2026 drilling resolves that open-endedness will shape how investors and the broader market value Minyari heading into PFS completion.

The long-term case for gold has strengthened materially through structural forces that sit well above project-level newsflow, including central bank accumulation running at a four-decade high pace and sovereign debt dynamics that have reduced the diversification value of government bonds as portfolio hedges.

Investors interested in tracking results can follow Antipa’s ASX announcements as drilling continues through CY2026.

This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Investors should conduct their own research and consult with financial professionals before making investment decisions. Forward-looking statements regarding drilling outcomes, resource growth, and study milestones are speculative and subject to change based on exploration results and market conditions.