Antares Metals Confirms High-Grade Gold at Three Quinns Drilling Targets

Antares Metals Confirms High-Grade Gold Across Three Targets at Quinns as Maiden Drilling Nears

Antares Metals Ltd (ASX: AM5) has reported widespread high-grade gold mineralisation across multiple prospects at its 100%-owned Quinns Gold and Copper-Zinc VMS Project in Western Australia, with results from a 94-sample rock chip program returning grades up to 65.2 g/t Au. According to the ASX announcement dated 17 August 2026, the update has expanded the Fennell target, confirmed Finlay as drill ready, and outlined a new soil-defined target at Venture, with all three now advancing to maiden drill design.

For investors, this update matters because it moves Quinns beyond surface reconnaissance and closer to first-pass drilling. The announcement also points to a broader opportunity across a 383km² tenure package covering 20km of the Meekatharra greenstone belt, where prior exploration largely focused on copper-zinc volcanogenic massive sulphide, or VMS, targets rather than gold.

Three Gold Targets Now Moving Toward Maiden Drilling

In the report, Antares said the June 2026 field program identified or advanced three priority gold targets at Fennell, Finlay and Venture, while also highlighting a fourth, newly recognised prospect that requires additional follow-up work.

The program returned assays ranging from below detection to 65.2 g/t Au, with seven samples above 1 g/t Au and 22 samples above 0.1 g/t Au. The company noted that rock chip sampling is selective by nature and is not necessarily representative of the broader mineralisation.

The key target summary from the update is outlined below:

This spread of targets is relevant because it reduces reliance on a single prospect. Furthermore, the Quinns update suggests that gold mineralisation may be present across multiple structural settings within the belt, which adds considerable appeal for investors seeking diversified early-stage exposure.

Fennell Expands Into a Larger First-Pass Drill Target

Fennell delivered the strongest headline assays in the announcement and appears to be the most advanced hard-rock gold target in the current pipeline.

According to the report, additional mapping and sampling around shallow workings and quartz veins returned:

• QURK116: 65.2 g/t Au
• QURK083: 16.63 g/t Au
• QURK082: 8.77 g/t Au
• QURK093: 4.38 g/t Au

The company said these results extend known mineralisation at the Fennell Gold Prospect and, importantly, help define a larger target geometry for drilling. Mapping has expanded the mineralised area from 130m to 250m in width, with mineralised quartz veins cutting across a banded iron formation (BIF) contact over up to 150m of strike.

That matters because early-stage gold exploration is not only about peak grade. Investors typically look for a combination of high grade, geological continuity and a target size large enough to support meaningful drilling. At Fennell, Antares appears to have improved all three elements at once.

The company also described the geological setting as consistent with orogenic gold mineralisation in the Murchison Province, a region with a long history of gold production and exploration success.

Managing Director Commentary

"Quinns has been hiding in plain sight. Recent operators have chased the VMS copper-zinc, so nobody had systematically tested the gold. This recent work has delivered 65 g/t gold and has expanded the high grades at Fennell plus high grades at three more targets. The Venture anomaly sitting along trend from a mine that recovered nearly 20 g/t gold a century ago tells you how much of this belt has never been looked at properly. With the Burnakura mill 10km down the road and gold where it is today, the job now is simple: clear heritage, lock the targets, and get a rig turning," said Terry Topping, Managing Director.

Finlay and Venture Add Depth to the Quinns Gold Story

Finlay remains one of the more straightforward near-surface targets in the Quinns portfolio. In the exploration update, Antares reported that a line of shallow pits and shafts has now been mapped over 90m of strike, confirming the presence of near-surface gold accumulation.

Previously reported samples from Finlay included:

• QURK048: 41.7 g/t Au
• QURK004: 3.70 g/t Au
• QURK055: 2.27 g/t Au

The latest result added QURK150: 1.67 g/t Au.

The report also noted that several additional quartz veins remain untested to the south-west, running subparallel to the historic workings. According to Antares, the prospect has not previously been investigated with modern exploration methods.

Venture, by contrast, is a soil geochemistry target rather than an outcropping high-grade vein target. The company said soil sampling has extended the known anomaly to 600m by 250m, defined by a 10ppb gold anomaly with two higher-grade zones peaking at 1,570 ppb Au and 500 ppb Au.

For non-specialist readers, soil geochemistry is an early-stage exploration tool that tests soil for trace amounts of metals that may have leaked upwards from buried mineralisation. It does not confirm an orebody, but it can be an efficient way to prioritise drilling.

The Venture prospect sits south-east of the historic Enterprise Mine. Antares said previously mined quartz veins from Enterprise trend towards the Venture anomaly, making it a priority for aircore drilling — a shallow and relatively low-cost drilling method commonly used to test covered ground.

The company cited historical public records indicating Enterprise produced 865.41oz of gold from 1,389.5 tons at an average recovered grade of 19.3 g/t Au between 1897 and 1917. Antares also made clear that Enterprise is not held by the company and that this historical production figure is not reported under the JORC Code (2012). It is included only as an indication of the mineralisation style and tenor in the district.

Understanding Orogenic Gold and Why It Matters at Quinns

The geological framing is central to this announcement. Antares has repeatedly referred to orogenic gold, which is a major class of gold deposit in Western Australia.

What Is Orogenic Gold?

Orogenic gold deposits form when hot, mineral-rich fluids move through the Earth's crust during periods of tectonic pressure and deformation. Gold is then deposited in fractures, faults and quartz veins, often in association with favourable rock types such as BIF.

These systems are often structurally controlled, meaning geology and fault architecture strongly influence where gold accumulates. This can help explorers considerably if they can map the relevant structures at surface or through geophysics.

Why Is BIF Important?

Banded iron formation, or BIF, is a layered rock made up mainly of iron-rich minerals and silica. In some gold districts, BIF acts as a useful host rock because it can provide a chemical and physical site for gold-bearing fluids to deposit mineralisation. At Fennell, Antares said mineralised quartz veins crosscut the BIF contact, which is one reason the company views the setting as a well-defined orogenic gold target.

Quick Glossary for Investors

• Rock chip sampling: Collection of surface rock samples for laboratory testing. These samples can show if gold is present, but they are selective and may not reflect average grade.
• Soil geochemistry: Testing soil for trace metals to identify possible buried targets.
• g/t Au: Grams of gold per tonne of rock.
• ppb: Parts per billion. In gold geochemistry, 1,000 ppb = 1 ppm = 1 g/t.
• Aircore drilling: A shallow drilling method often used for first-pass testing beneath soil or loose cover.
• VMS: Volcanogenic massive sulphide, a type of copper-zinc mineralisation that was the main historic exploration focus at Quinns.

For investors following early-stage gold stories, this geological context helps explain why the company sees potential beyond isolated high-grade samples.

A Large, Underexplored Tenure Package in the Meekatharra Belt

The announcement places considerable emphasis on scale. Antares said its Quinns tenure covers 383km² on the southern extent of the Meekatharra greenstone belt and includes:

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

According to the report, the company holds 20km of belt strike that has not been tested with modern gold-focused exploration. Earlier operators including CRA Exploration, Silver Swan Group and Caravelle Minerals mainly targeted the project's copper-zinc VMS potential, particularly the Austin VMS Deposit.

That historical focus is important. It suggests that at least part of the gold opportunity may have been overlooked rather than disproven. While that does not guarantee a discovery, it does help explain why multiple shallow gold targets are now emerging from systematic modern work.

The company said it is combining historical data review with new field programs, soil geochemistry and a belt-wide geophysics review to improve target generation beneath shallow cover.

Infrastructure Proximity Adds Context to Future Development Options

Antares remains in the exploration stage, and no development decision is implied in the announcement. However, location matters. The Quinns project is reported to lie approximately:

• 10km from Monument Mining's Burnakura Mill
• 50km from Westgold Resources' Bluebird and Tuckabianna mills

According to Antares, proximity to established third-party processing capacity is a material consideration for any future development pathway. For junior explorers in Western Australia, nearby mills can provide optionality if a deposit is later defined and proves economic to mine.

That said, the announcement does not state that any milling arrangement is in place or under negotiation. The relevance here is geographic and conceptual rather than contractual.

Next Steps and Near-Term Catalysts

The report outlines a clear sequence of work intended to move Quinns from sampling into drilling. Near-term activities include:

From a market perspective, maiden drilling is usually the next major value inflection point for an explorer. Surface sampling can define targets, but drilling is required to test continuity, thickness and orientation below surface.

Why Quinns Is Gaining Attention

This ASX update strengthens the investment case at Quinns in several meaningful ways.

First, the project now hosts multiple gold targets rather than a single standout sample locality. Second, Fennell appears to have grown into a more coherent drill target, with both grade and footprint improving through additional work. Third, Venture introduces a covered anomaly with a sizeable geochemical footprint and a logical structural relationship to historic workings in the district.

Just as importantly, Antares is moving from target generation to execution. Heritage surveys, drill planning and expanded geochemistry suggest a busy second half of 2026 if field access proceeds as planned.

For investors tracking ASX gold explorers, Quinns now presents a combination of high-grade surface results, district-scale tenure, underexplored belt position and near-term drilling catalysts. Whether those ingredients convert into a discovery will depend on maiden drill outcomes, but according to the announcement, the project has moved materially closer to that test.

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