Antares Metals (ASX:AM5) is embarking on a fresh exploration strategy at its Quinns gold project in Western Australia, aiming to uncover significant gold potential that it believes previous operators overlooked. The company is employing modern techniques to re-evaluate the project, which lies in a region already known for its mineral wealth.
Unlocking Untapped Gold at Quinns
The Quinns gold project is strategically situated near established mining operations and processing facilities. However, Antares Metals points out that the area has seen surprisingly little contemporary gold exploration. Historically, the focus for previous stakeholders was predominantly on base metals, leaving the project’s gold prospects largely untested.
Antares is determined to change this narrative. A new field campaign is currently underway, building upon promising results from recent geochemical soil sampling and the discovery of previously undocumented gold mineralisation at historic workings identified in late 2025.
Expanding the Project’s Footprint
Significantly, Antares has lodged a new exploration licence application that encompasses a 320-metre strike length of the historic Favourite mine workings. This move will expand the Quinns project’s total contiguous tenure to an impressive 384 square kilometres, solidifying its position across the Meekatharra greenstone belt.
The company’s Managing Director, Terry Topping, highlighted the exceptional potential revealed by the 2025 sampling program. “A new field campaign has commenced to build on this earlier work by expanding soil geochemistry programs and conducting detailed mapping and rock chip sampling that, along with a review of historic data, is helping identify high-priority drilling targets in one of Australia’s prominent mineral districts,” he stated.
Mr. Topping further elaborated on the operational progress: “We now have POWs granted and are actively engaged with the local Native Title group to arrange heritage surveys for the upcoming drill programs.”
A Consolidated Landholding
The Quinns project’s current landholding comprises a substantial portfolio of assets, including:
- Three exploration licences
- Four prospecting licences
- One prospecting licence application
- Four mining lease applications
- Five new exploration licence applications
“This consolidated tenure secures a dominant position over the southern extent of the Meekatharra greenstone belt in the Youanmi Terrane,” Mr. Topping informed shareholders, underscoring the strategic advantage of this expanded footprint.
A Rich Gold History
Historical records dating back to 1897 and 1917 reveal that the Quinns area was historically mined for shallow alluvial gold and quartz reef deposits. These early operations yielded a notable quantity of gold, with a total of 20,398 tonnes of ore processed to produce 11,925 ounces of gold at an impressive average grade of 18.2 grams per tonne.
Future Exploration Strategy
Antares Metals’ upcoming work at Quinns will concentrate on several key areas:
- Drill Targeting: Finalising the identification and prioritisation of drill targets based on integrated geological and geochemical data.
- Heritage Surveys: Organising and conducting essential heritage surveys in collaboration with the local Native Title group to ensure responsible exploration practices.
- Mapping and Sampling: Expanding detailed geological mapping and soil sampling programs to further refine understanding of the project’s mineralisation.
Beyond these immediate field activities, the Western Australian explorer is undertaking a comprehensive review of all available geophysical datasets for the Quinns gold project. This initiative aims to deepen the structural understanding of the project area, potentially revealing new insights into the geological controls on gold mineralisation.
Antares Metals (ASX:AM5) was trading steadily at 0.7 cents this morning.
