Antipa Minerals Limited (ASX: AZY) (Antipa or the Company) is pleased to announce the decision by Newcrest Operations Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of Newcrest Mining Limited, (Newcrest) to assume management of the farm-in agreement on the Wilki Project in the Paterson Province of Western Australia (Wilki Project or Project).
Newcrest's decision to assume management of the Wilki Project follows the satisfactory completion of the initial commitment of A$6 million exploration expenditure, which Newcrest completed in November 2021, and finalisation by Antipa of the Project's current programme of works. Newcrest's management of the operations of the Project will take effect on 1 July 2022.
Commenting on Newcrest's decision to assume management of the Wilki Project, Antipa Managing Director, Roger Mason, said: 'Newcrest's decision to assume operatorship of our Wilki Farm-in Project from July is perfect timing. With our other major partners, Rio Tinto and IGO, already operating our Citadel JV and Paterson Farm-in Projects, respectively, this allows Antipa to dedicate its focus to the rapid advancement of our 100%-owned Minyari Dome Project. The recent substantial resource upgrade at Minyari, to 1.8 Moz gold, readily demonstrates why we are now targeting a standalone mining and processing operation at Minyari via the usual evaluation studies. Running in parallel, our major partners will be funding significant greenfield discovery exploration programmes on 5,000km2 of world-class Paterson Province ground. Antipa enjoys the best of both worlds in this respect, with exciting times ahead.'
Farm-in Terms The farm-in agreement with Newcrest on the Wilki Project requires the following expenditure to be incurred and paid by Newcrest to earn up to a 75% joint venture interest: Initial commitment: A$6 million in exploration expenditure within 2 years of commencement of the farm-in agreement. This has now been satisfied. No joint venture interest was earned by the incurring of this amount.
Stage 1: A further A$10 million in exploration expenditure by March 2025 to earn a 51% joint venture interest. Newcrest can extend this period by up to 2 years. Newcrest is now proceeding with this stage. Newcrest has rights to withdraw from the farm-in during Stage 1.
Stage 2: A further A$44 million in exploration expenditure by March 2028 to earn a 75% joint venture interest. Newcrest can extend this period by up to 2 years (in aggregate with any earlier extension).
Upon Newcrest earning a 51% interest in the Project, Antipa and Newcrest will become parties to a Joint Venture Agreement under terms already agreed (for further details, please refer to Antipa's ASX Release of 28 February 2020).
Contact:
Roger Mason
Tel: +61 (0)8 9481 1103
About Antipa Minerals
Antipa is a mineral exploration company focused on the Paterson Province in north-west Western Australia, home to Newcrest Mining's world-class Telfer gold-copper mine, Rio Tinto's Winu copper-gold deposit, NewcrestGreatland Gold's Havieron gold-copper deposit and other significant mineral deposits. Having first entered the Paterson in 2011 when it was a less sought-after exploration address, the Company has used its early mover advantage to build an enviable tenement holding of 5,100km2 , including the 1,200km2 Citadel Joint Venture Project with Rio Tinto (who currently holds a 65% joint venture interest), the 2,200km2 Wilki Project that is subject to a $60 million Farm-in and Joint Venture Agreement with Newcrest (who is yet to earn a joint venture interest) and the 1,500km2 Paterson Project that is subject to a $30 million Farm-in and Joint Venture Agreement with IGO (who is yet to earn a joint venture interest).
Antipa retains 144km2 of 100%-owned Minyari Dome Project tenements which contains an established Mineral Resource, with the Minyari and WACA deposits containing 1.8 million ounces of gold and 64,300 tonnes of copper plus other deposits and high quality exploration targets. The Citadel Project lies within 5km of the Winu deposit and contains a Mineral Resource of 2.4 million ounces of gold and 162,000 tonnes of copper from two deposits, Calibre and Magnum. Unlike certain parts of the Paterson where the post mineralisation (younger) cover can be kilometres thick, making for difficult exploration, the Company's combined 5,100km2 tenement portfolio features relatively shallow cover; approximately 80% being under less than 80 metres of cover. Extensive drilling programmes, geophysical and surface geochemical surveys are planned for 2022 across Antipa's combined Paterson tenement portfolio as the company pursues a multi-layered strategy of targeting tier-one greenfields discoveries, growing its existing resources through brownfields exploration and advancing potential development opportunities.
Forward-Looking Statements
This document may include forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning Antipa Mineral Ltd's planned exploration programme and other statements that are not historical facts. When used in this document, the words such as 'could,' 'plan,' 'estimate,' 'expect,' 'intend,' 'may,' 'potential,' 'should,' and similar expressions are forward-looking statements. Although Antipa Minerals Ltd believes that its expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties and no assurance can be given that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements.
ANTIPA MINERALS LIMITED 