Antipa Minyari drilling campaign: design and pit shell notes for mine planners
Reviewed by Tom Sullivan

First reported on Australian Mining
30 Second Briefing
Antipa Minerals has started a major drilling campaign at its 100 per cent-owned Minyari gold-copper project in Western Australia’s Paterson Province, targeting resource growth and higher-grade zones around existing deposits. The programme focuses on step-out and infill drilling near current mineralisation, using reverse circulation and diamond core holes to refine geological models and upgrade JORC classifications. Geotechs and mine planners should watch for new intercepts that could materially change pit shell geometry, geotechnical domains and potential underground development options at Minyari.
Technical Brief
- Campaign is described as “major”, implying multi-rig, multi‑month drilling with substantial metreage commitment.
- Work is entirely within Antipa’s 100 per cent-owned Minyari mining leases, simplifying approvals and data confidentiality.
- Paterson Province setting suggests Proterozoic basement targets beneath variable cover, influencing drilling methods and casing strategy.
- Gold–copper focus implies logging for both sulphide style and potential supergene enrichment, affecting sample intervals.
- Reverse circulation and diamond drilling combination enables both rapid coverage and oriented core for structural modelling.
- New data will feed directly into JORC resource updates, constraining slope design and underground access studies.
- Paterson logistics (remote desert, seasonal heat) will drive water supply, rig access and sample transport planning.
Our Take
Our database shows a sequence of Minyari updates since late 2025 – including a standalone open‑pit resource (Dec 2025) and a resource upgrade (Apr 2026) – so this new drilling phase in the Paterson Province is likely aimed at tightening pre‑feasibility assumptions rather than early‑stage discovery work.
With Minyari confirmed as a 100 per cent‑owned gold–copper–silver asset and pre‑feasibility work already underway (Dec 2025 PFS progress article), Antipa Minerals is positioning the project as a potential standalone development in Western Australia rather than relying on toll treatment or third‑party infrastructure.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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