Antares Metals Confirms High-Grade Gold Discovery at Quinns, Western Australia

Antares Metals Uncovers High-Grade Gold at Quinns — Three Drill Targets Ready to Test a Largely Untouched Orogenic Gold System

Antares Metals Ltd (ASX: AM5) has delivered a significant exploration milestone at its 100%-owned Quinns project in Western Australia, confirming the Antares Metals Quinns high grade gold discovery in Western Australia through high-grade gold mineralisation at three separate historically mined workings. A targeted rock chip sampling programme comprising 61 samples has returned grades up to 41.7 g/t Au, with multiple samples exceeding 3 g/t Au across all three targets — results that have directly triggered maiden drill planning across the entire project.

The announcement represents the first systematic modern gold exploration across AM5's 383km² Quinns tenure. Prior operators focused on the project's volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) copper-zinc mineralisation, meaning the orogenic gold potential across this large, well-located ground package has been essentially untouched until now.

"These results at Quinns are extremely encouraging and point to a high-grade gold system that's barely been touched by modern exploration. When you have 41.7 g/t at surface, a project sitting 50km from an operating mill, and high gold prices, we are keen to get these targets drilled as quickly as possible." — Managing Director Terry Topping

Three Targets, Three Sets of Compelling Numbers

The sampling programme returned high-grade results from all three prospects, each with distinct geological characteristics and defined strike lengths that provide clear drill corridor frameworks. The table below summarises the key results by target.

Finlay Gold Prospect — Highest Grade of the Programme

The Finlay Gold Prospect is a line of shallow pits and shafts mapped over a 70m northwest strike length that had never previously appeared in any exploration record. The standout result of the entire programme — sample QURK048 at 41.7 g/t Au — came from this prospect, accompanied by QURK055 at 2.27 g/t Au.

A previous AM5 sampling campaign had already returned 3.70 g/t Au (QURK004, reported February 2026) from the same area. Furthermore, additional untested quartz veins mapped to the southwest, subparallel to the historical workings, point to further upside that has yet to be tested.

Fennell Gold Prospect — BIF-Hosted Structural Setting

At the Fennell prospect, shallow workings cross-cut a regional Banded Iron Formation (BIF) over a strike length exceeding 130m. Samples QURK033 (15.93 g/t Au) and QURK035 (5.30 g/t Au) were returned from this structurally defined corridor.

The BIF-hosted setting is consistent with orogenic gold mineralisation typical of the broader Murchison Province — a geological framework that has produced significant gold deposits across Western Australia. The >130m mapped strike provides a well-defined drill corridor targeting structures crosscutting the BIF contact.

Favourite Gold Mine — Longest Continuous Structure

The Favourite Gold Mine represents the largest of the three targets. Mullock sampling and mapping across the historic Favourite shaft and surrounding workings confirm gold-bearing quartz veining over a continuous strike length of more than 180m — the longest of the three targets.

Samples QURK020 (3.39 g/t Au) and QURK021 (3.48 g/t Au) underline the consistency of mineralisation. In addition, further mapping and sampling of this and other target areas within the project are ongoing.

Understanding Orogenic Gold — Why the Geological Setting Matters

What Is Orogenic Gold Mineralisation?

Orogenic gold deposits form during major mountain-building events when hot, gold-bearing fluids are driven through fault systems and structural corridors in ancient rocks. These fluids deposit gold — typically in quartz veins — at structurally favourable sites such as fault intersections, fold hinges, and contacts between contrasting rock types such as BIF and volcanic sequences.

Why Does It Matter for Investors?

Orogenic gold systems are among the world's most important gold deposit types, responsible for a significant proportion of global gold production. They tend to be structurally continuous — meaning grade and width can persist at depth well below surface workings — and they often occur in clusters, meaning one discovery can open up a broader mineralised corridor.

The Murchison Province in Western Australia hosts numerous significant orogenic gold deposits. However, AM5's Quinns tenements sit within this well-endowed geological setting across a 20km belt that has not been tested with modern exploration, making this a genuinely greenfield opportunity.

Key Terms Explained

• Rock chip sampling: Collection of rock fragments from outcrop or workings for laboratory assay; used as a first-pass technique to identify mineralised areas.
• g/t Au: Grams of gold per tonne of rock — the standard unit for reporting gold grades.
• BIF (Banded Iron Formation): Layered sedimentary rock rich in iron and silica, commonly associated with orogenic gold mineralisation in Archaean greenstone belts.
• VMS (Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide): A deposit type formed at ancient seafloor volcanic vents, typically hosting copper, zinc, lead, gold, and silver.
• Strike length: The horizontal distance along which mineralisation or a geological feature can be traced at surface.
• Greenstone belt: An ancient sequence of volcanic and sedimentary rocks in Archaean cratons, widely associated with gold and base metal mineralisation.

What Makes Quinns Strategically Positioned

Beyond the grade of the results themselves, the Quinns project benefits from a combination of factors that add meaningful strategic context to the exploration upside.

Proximity to Established Milling Infrastructure

• Quinns is located approximately 10km from Monument Mining's (TSX.V: MMY) Burnakura Mill
• The project sits approximately 50km from Westgold Resources' (ASX: WGX) Bluebird and Tuckabianna Mills

Access to nearby milling infrastructure is a material consideration for junior explorers at the project development stage. While AM5 is at an early exploration phase and no development decision has been made, the proximity of multiple operating mills provides a potential future pathway unavailable to many remote gold projects.

A Large, Largely Untested Land Package

AM5's Quinns tenure covers 383km² and consolidates the southern extent of the Meekatharra-Wydgee Greenstone Belt — a proven gold and base metal district. The tenure comprises:

• 3 granted exploration licences
• 4 granted prospecting licences
• 4 mining lease applications
• 5 exploration licence applications

Previous exploration by operators including CRA Exploration, Silver Swan Group, Westgold, Newmont, and WMC was predominantly directed at the VMS copper-zinc potential. Consequently, the orogenic gold endowment across a 20km belt has never received meaningful modern drill testing, leaving AM5 as effectively the first mover in applying modern gold-focused exploration methodology across this ground.

District-Wide Potential Confirmed Across Multiple Workings

All three targets returned high-grade results, and they are spatially separate across the project area — a key indicator that gold mineralisation is a district-wide feature rather than isolated to a single anomaly. The company notes that additional untested quartz veins and historical workings remain across the tenure, with further mapping and sampling underway.

Next Steps: A Clear Path to Maiden Drilling

AM5 has outlined a structured sequence of activities designed to advance all three targets to maiden drilling in the near term.

Beyond Quinns, AM5 is also running concurrent exploration activities at:

• Mt Isa North Copper-Uranium Project (QLD) — covering approximately 2,003km² in the world-renowned Mt Isa base metals district
• Katanning Gold Project (WA) — positioned along strike from Ausgold's (ASX: AUC) multi-million-ounce Katanning Gold Project
• Conglomerate Creek and Cromwell discoveries (QLD) — further work planned to build on earlier results

This multi-project activity profile positions AM5 for sustained news flow through H2 2026.

The Investment Case: First-Mover Advantage on an Underexplored Gold Belt

The Antares Metals Quinns high grade gold discovery in Western Australia illustrates a straightforward yet compelling exploration proposition: a large, well-located ground package in a proven gold district that has never been systematically explored for gold, returning high-grade surface results at multiple separate workings on first pass.

The key elements of the investment case are as follows:

1. High-grade surface results with no previous modern drill testing — grades of 41.7 g/t, 15.93 g/t, and 5.30 g/t at surface are exceptional for a first-pass programme, indicating robust near-surface mineralisation that has not been drill-tested.
2. Three defined targets advancing directly to drilling — the company is not merely identifying anomalies; it has three geologically defined targets with mapped strike lengths ready for drill collar planning.
3. District-scale potential across a 20km belt — results were returned across spatially separated workings, confirming that gold mineralisation is not restricted to a single location within the tenure.
4. Strategic location relative to established milling infrastructure — proximity to multiple operating mills reduces the logistical and financial complexity of any future development scenario.
5. Multi-project portfolio generating concurrent news flow — active programmes across Mt Isa North (copper-uranium) and Katanning (gold) mean investors are not solely reliant on a single catalyst.
6. First modern explorer to target the orogenic gold system — prior operators' focus on VMS copper-zinc has left AM5 with an effectively greenfield gold opportunity on ground that carries historical validation through multiple old workings and high-grade assays.

Why Investors Should Watch AM5 Closely

AM5 has demonstrated through this first systematic sampling programme that the Quinns gold potential is real, widespread, and high-grade. The company is moving at pace through the heritage and permitting steps required to commence maiden drilling, with a geophysics review and expanded soil sampling programme running in parallel to ensure drill targets are optimally defined.

The combination of a large, underexplored land package in a proven greenstone belt, high-grade first-pass results at multiple targets, nearby milling infrastructure, and a diversified project portfolio across two of Australia's premier mineral provinces makes AM5 a company with multiple upcoming catalysts across the second half of 2026.

The Antares Metals Quinns high grade gold discovery in Western Australia has established the company as a compelling orogenic gold explorer in the Murchison Province. With high-grade surface results up to 41.7 g/t Au confirming district-wide gold potential across a 383km² tenure that prior operators left unexplored for gold, AM5 has firmly positioned itself at the forefront of this emerging gold opportunity. Maiden drilling across three defined targets is advancing in the near term — and with concurrent activity across its Queensland and Western Australian portfolio, AM5 offers investors meaningful catalysts throughout H2 2026.

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