- 01Near-surface mineralisation at Mons Cupri.
- 02CuEq intercepts up to ~8% in key zones.
- 03Infill drilling for metallurgy, pit design, and early cash flow.
Anax Metals (ASX: ANX) has delivered bonanza grades from recent drilling at the Mons Cupri deposit within its Whim Creek copper-zinc project in Western Australia.
An initial four holes for 5,000 metres reaffirmed near-surface high-grade mineralisation as a key feature of the resource, with best intercepts of 85.9m at 2.89% copper equivalent (CuEq) from 34.6m, including 4.7m at 8.34% CuEq from 34.6m and 17.5m at 8.37% CuEq from 39.3m, as well as 62.54m at 2.95% CuEq from 107.32m, including 5.04m at 5.46% CuEq from 107.32m and 18.98m at 6.01% CuEq from 112.36m.
Zones within the upper portion of the main Mons Cupri lens also returned outstanding grades, including significant silver and gold by-product credits.
Infill drilling is expected to support metallurgical test work and refinement of the base-of-pit design, while providing additional technical information to support ongoing project finance due diligence.
Historical DHEM Review
Perth-based Newexco Exploration Services recently completed a review of historical downhole electromagnetic (DHEM) surveys over 14 diamond holes drilled at Mons Cupri in 2004.
The review confirmed that known copper-zinc mineralisation could produce a subtle but genuine response to DHEM techniques, although vintage equipment and survey design used at the time limited how clearly that response could be resolved.
It also noted that surveying at the time was limited geographically to the eastern side of the deposit—complementing the western focus of Anax’s 2026 campaign, which follows the plunge of the main shoot and structural corridor linking it to the north-western shoot.
A number of historical holes have been identified for re-entry and surveying, and Anax is currently locating the collars.
Additional drill holes have been designed and scheduled to follow up induced polarisation targets that historically correlated with sulphide mineralisation but were poorly tested.
Defining Project Feature
Managing director Geoff Laing said the results confirmed that near-surface high-grade mineralisation was a defining feature of Mons Cupri.
“Importantly, this is the material scheduled to be mined in the early stages of the restart plan, which underpins strong early cashflow.”
“We look forward to the DHEM crew mobilising to site later this month, while we continue to focus on finalising project funding and advancing the FEED workstreams as we move towards a final investment decision.”
Anax conducted a $10 million two-tranche share placement in March to bolster its balance sheet, repay debt, and fund ongoing development and exploration for the Whim Creek project.
The raising resulted in a pro forma cash position of approximately $7m after the repayment of a $3.5m loan from major shareholder Jetosea, which removed a potential 2.5% net smelter return royalty over Anax’s interest in Whim Creek.
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