Antares Metals Clears Final Hurdle for Maiden Drilling at High-Grade Copper Project
AM5 clears path to maiden drilling at high-grade Quinns copper project
Antares Metals (ASX:AM5) has secured approval from the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DMIRS) for its Program of Work (PoW) at the Quinns Copper-Gold-Zinc VMS Project in the Murchison region of Western Australia. Heritage surveys are scheduled to commence mid-August 2026, clearing the way for the company’s maiden drill program shortly thereafter.
The drilling will test high-grade extensions at the historic Austin deposit plus untested regional VMS targets at Defiance and 4E. The program is part-funded by $237,500 in Western Australian Government Exploration Incentive Scheme (EIS) co-funding, previously secured in May 2026, which directly offsets drilling and geophysics costs. This approval converts a recently acquired (January 2026) historic asset into a near-term, drill-ready catalyst with material news flow expected through the second half of 2026.
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Why the Program of Work approval matters now
The PoW approval triggers a clear sequence: heritage surveys commence mid-August 2026, followed by maiden reverse circulation (RC) and diamond drilling targeting both resource extensions and greenfield VMS prospects. This represents the final regulatory step before physical drilling begins.
From an investment perspective, the approval converts Quinns from a historical asset into an active exploration program with near-term newsflow. The company acquired the project in January 2026, inheriting a legacy dataset including the historic Austin VMS deposit and a suite of untested regional targets. The PoW approval now allows AM5 to test whether that historical mineralisation extends beyond the existing footprint and whether the broader district hosts additional VMS deposits along the same mineralised trend.
Critically, the program is partially funded through non-dilutive government co-funding. The $237,500 EIS package, secured in May 2026, includes:
- $150,000 direct RC and diamond drilling co-funding
- $50,000 for regional target generation
- $37,500 for a high-resolution aeromagnetic geophysical survey
Managing Director Terry Topping
“Approval of our Program of Work is a big step forward for Quinns… With EIS funding of $237,500 providing up to 50% of direct drilling costs, this non-dilutive funding is a genuine endorsement of our geological work here. I expect Quinns to generate material news flow for AM5 shareholders in the second half of 2026.”
The EIS co-funding provides up to 50% of direct drilling costs, preserving AM5’s cash for deployment across its broader three-project exploration hub portfolio, which includes the Mt Isa North projects in Queensland.
Inside Austin — high grades sitting outside the historic resource
The Austin VMS deposit forms the centrepiece target within the Quinns Project. Historical drilling by CRA Exploration (CRAE) between 1990–1991 and Silver Swan Group between 2008–2010 defined a historical Mineral Resource Estimate of 1.48Mt @ 1.02% copper, 1.39% zinc, 3.51g/t silver, and 0.24g/t gold. This estimate was prepared in accordance with the JORC Code 2004 edition. It is a historical estimate and is not a Mineral Resource or Ore Reserve under the JORC Code 2012 edition. A Competent Person has not undertaken sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as a Mineral Resource in accordance with the JORC Code 2012, and AM5 is not treating it as such. Investors should not rely on the historical estimate. There is no certainty that further exploration will result in the historical estimate being reported as a Mineral Resource under the JORC Code 2012.
| Category | Tonnes | Cu % | Zn % | Au g/t |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Measured | 463,428 | 1.22 | 1.41 | 0.3 |
| Indicated | 703,286 | 0.97 | 1.47 | 0.22 |
| Inferred | 317,708 | 0.85 | 1.17 | 0.18 |
| Total | 1,484,421 | 1.02 | 1.39 | 0.24 |
Historical estimate, JORC 2004, 0.4% Cu cut-off — not a JORC 2012 resource.
High-grade intersections excluded from the historic resource
Several shallow, high-grade copper and zinc intersections from historical drilling remain outside the current resource envelope, representing near-term upgrade potential:
- 10ATD001: 58m @ 2.0% Cu, 8.6g/t Ag & 0.42g/t Au from 148m, including 5m @ 10.2% Cu, 36.4g/t Ag & 2.0g/t Au from 164m, and 2m @ 16.9% Cu, 61.8g/t Ag & 3.1g/t Au from 165m
- 10ATD001 (zinc zone): 38m @ 14% Zn from 105m, including 6m @ 33.3% Zn from 126m and 2m @ 45.6% Zn from 140m
- ATD108: 2m @ 4.7% Cu, 21.1g/t Ag, 0.36g/t Au from 99m
- ATD110: 9m @ 7.9% Cu from 84m and 10m @ 37.3g/t Ag from 84m
These intercepts were drilled by Silver Swan during 2010 and lie outside the historical resource footprint, suggesting potential for continuity and expansion of the mineralised system.
The copper price case for a cut-off review
The 2010 historical estimate applied a 0.4% copper cut-off grade at a time when copper traded at approximately US$7,700 per tonne. Copper is currently trading at approximately US$13,400 per tonne (London Metal Exchange, 17 July 2026), representing an increase of around 75%.
AM5 considers this increase may warrant a review of the cut-off grade applied in any future resource estimation work at Austin, which could allow additional mineralisation within the company’s existing drill dataset to be incorporated. Any revised estimate would need to be prepared by a Competent Person in accordance with the JORC Code, and there is no certainty it would result in a larger or higher-grade resource.
Understanding VMS deposits (and why investors care)
Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide (VMS) deposits are metal-rich bodies (copper-zinc-silver-gold) formed by ancient seafloor volcanic activity. These deposits typically occur in clusters along the same geological trend, rather than in isolation. When volcanic fluids rich in dissolved metals are expelled onto the seafloor, they cool rapidly, precipitating sulphides that accumulate as lenses or sheets of mineralisation.
VMS systems rarely occur alone. The discovery of one deposit (Austin) raises the probability of others nearby. This “camp potential” is why AM5’s untested regional targets at Defiance (2–5km northeast) and 4E (7km northeast) carry exploration upside. Both prospects display aeromagnetic anomalies, elevated copper-zinc geochemistry, and VMS-indicative structural sequences, yet neither has received systematic follow-up drilling. This forms the basis for AM5’s exploration thesis beyond the immediate Austin resource target.
Regional upside — Defiance, 4E and the neighbourhood
Defiance and 4E represent untested targets along the same mineralised trend as Austin, each displaying characteristics consistent with VMS-style mineralisation.
Defiance, located 5km northeast of Austin, comprises a series of distinct aeromagnetic anomalies covering a zone approximately 1km in length. Historical drilling by Defiance Mining in 1997 and Emu Nickel in 2009 intersected anomalous zinc values (30m @ 0.25% Zn from 36m, including 4m @ 0.45% Zn) within ferruginous saprolite. Adjacent holes intersected elevated copper values ranging from 186ppm to 735ppm over a 30m interval. The target remains open and has not been systematically tested.
The 4E prospect, located approximately 7km northeast of Austin, hosts a mineralised sequence interpreted to be structurally consistent with VMS-style mineralisation. Historical RC drilling by Emu Nickel in 2010 (hole WKRC-5) intersected a silica-magnetite ironstone with minor to abundant stringer and disseminated sulphides including pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite over a 10m interval (126–136m), returning 10m @ 0.23% Cu. Gold values were slightly enriched, averaging 0.14g/t. The silica-magnetite-sulphide interval anomalous in copper and gold is interpreted to be analogous to the alteration sequence associated with the VMS mineralisation at Austin.
The broader district context supports the prospectivity of the region. Quinns is located within an infrastructure-rich part of the Murchison mineral field, with existing processing infrastructure including Monument Mining’s Burnukura Mill and Westgold Resources’ Bluebird, Paddy’s Flat, and Tuckabianna mills all within trucking distance.
Approximately 40km east of Quinns, Solstice Minerals Ltd (ASX:SLS) holds the Nanadie Copper Deposit, which has a JORC 2012 compliant Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate of 40.4Mt @ 0.4% copper and 0.1g/t gold for 162kt of contained copper and 130koz of contained gold. AM5 considers this resource, together with the surrounding mill infrastructure, to be supportive of the broader copper and gold prospectivity of the district in which Quinns is located. However, the Nanadie deposit is a third-party JORC 2012 resource, AM5 has not verified it, and its existence is not necessarily indicative of mineralisation at Quinns.
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What’s next — a busy second half for AM5
The company has outlined a clear roadmap for the remainder of 2026:
- Finalise drill targeting at Quinns; complete heritage surveys; continue mapping and expanded soil sampling
- Comprehensive review of geophysical datasets to enhance structural understanding of the project area
- Phase One drilling at Austin targeting resource extensions and high-grade zones outside the historical estimate
- Phase Two drilling at Defiance and 4E to test untested VMS targets along the same trend
- Parallel activity in Queensland: 780m drilling completed at Conglomerate Creek; further work planned at Conglomerate Creek and Cromwell
The PoW approval, combined with non-dilutive EIS funding and high-grade historic intersections sitting outside the current resource envelope, provides a low-cost, near-term path toward a maiden JORC 2012 resource. With heritage surveys scheduled for mid-August 2026 and drilling to follow shortly after, material news flow is expected through the second half of 2026.
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