The Conversation (1)
Anax Metals Limited (ASX: ANX, Anax, or the Company) is pleased to provide an update to the market on its corporate strategy focused on the recommencement of production at the Whim Creek Copper Project (Project), located 115km southwest of Port Hedland in the West Pilbara region of Western Australia (Figure 1). The Project is 80% owned by Anax with the remaining 20% owned by Develop Global Limited (ASX: DVP, Develop).
- Strengthened copper prices have enhanced the Whim Creek economics by 32% providing a Pre-Tax NPV7 of $357M and IRR of 74%.*
- The planned 8-year mine life will generate ~$520M in free cash.*
- Potential to increase open pit mine-life and cashflow through re- optimisation at higher commodity prices.
- Evelyn and Salt Creek copper resource extension exploration to be prioritized in the coming field season.
- Studies for the regional processing hub strategy have commenced.
- The Sulphur Springs Oxide/Transitional leaching test work at the CSIRO completed.
- Project financing and strategic partnering discussions progressing.
Anax’s Managing Director, Geoff Laing commented: “The Whim Creek asset continues to shape up as a strategic processing hub for the Pilbara. The robust standalone project delivers attractive economic outcomes which are highly leveraged to base metal prices.
The recent increase in copper and other key metal prices has significantly enhanced project financial metrics. Anax is ideally positioned to benefit from the positive momentum building in copper demand on the back of its critical role in electrification and green technologies
The team has worked diligently to ensure the Whim Creek asset is ready for near term production of key energy metals while establishing a platform for growth through the processing hub and resource extensions.”
Figure 1: Location of the Whim Creek Project
Strengthening copper, zinc, lead, silver and gold prices adds significant momentum to Whim Creek’s near-term development and recommencement of operations. Key outcomes from the Whim Creek Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS)1 and Heap Leach Study2 based on current metal price and exchange rate inputs provides a ~32% improvement in the Whim Creek financial outcome and would generate circa $520 million free cash, a Pre-Tax NPV7 of $357M and an IRR of 74%* (noting that the DFS1 and Heap Leach Study2 outputs from March and September 2023 provided an NPV7 of $270M and IRR of 55%, respectively).
Furthermore, price assumptions used in open pit optimisations in the DFS were markedly lower than current commodity prices as shown in Table 1.
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Anax Metals Limited
Investor Insight
Anax Metals, an ASX-listed exploration company, is dedicated to advancing its copper assets in Western Australia’s Pilbara region. Through key joint ventures and strategic partnerships, the company is well-positioned to develop a central processing hub, enhancing operational efficiency and delivering strong investor value.
Overview
Anax Metals (ASX:ANX) is a project developer that is on track to begin producing copper and zinc concentrates from its flagship Whim Creek project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The project is 80 percent owned by Anax, with JV partner Develop Global (Develop) owning the remaining 20 percent. The Whim Creek DFS (and leaching study) have demonstrated the opportunity for an eight-year mining operation producing copper concentrates, cathodes and valuable byproducts. The operation will generate $410 million in cash flow and deliver an NPV of $270 million with a development capex of $71 million.
The company believes its growth potential lies both in expanding the mineral resources across the project’s four deposits and in a consolidation strategy that includes a processing hub with a concentrator and heap leach at Whim Creek. Benefits from the consolidation include delivering economies of scale with processing flexibility to treat ores from regional orebodies. The permitted infrastructure is ideally located and suited to becoming the Pilbara-processing hub.
Anax Metals and GreenTech Metals signed a non-binding and non-exclusive memorandum of understanding to assess the potential to treat mined material from GreenTech’s base metal assets, with a focus on the open-pittable Whundo deposit.
Anax Metals also signed a non-binding and non-exclusive memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Artemis Resources (ASX:ARV) to jointly assess the potential for processing the copper content of Artemis’ open-pittable Greater Carlow resource at the fully-permitted Whim Creek Processing hub. Anax and Artemis also agree to evaluate the potential for Artemis to explore for gold mineralisation on the Anax project tenure.
Company Highlights
- Anax Metals focuses on delivering copper production at the Whim Creek copper-zinc project within the next 18 to 24 months, targeting over $400 million in free cash flow across an eight-year mine life.
- The company aims to drive resource expansion and consolidate copper assets in the Pilbara region by developing a central processing hub.
- Since completing the DFS last year, Anax Metals has been evaluating opportunities to increase Whim Creek’s production capacity beyond 20 kt of copper equivalent per year.
- Capital requirements are expected to remain low, with plans to leverage existing infrastructure and deploy preconcentration technology to optimize processing capacity..
- Anax Metals actively collaborates with key partners, including Develop Global (ASX:DVP), Greentech Metals (ASX:GRE), and several metal trading groups.
Key Projects
Whim Creek Copper-Zinc Project
Whim Creek is strategically located along the NW Coastal Highway in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, approximately 120 km from both Port Hedland and Karratha. With a long history of copper production, the project benefits from existing infrastructure, including dams, haul roads, offices, workshops, and a dedicated gas spur line. Currently being developed as an 80/20 joint venture between Anax Metals and Develop Global, Whim Creek hosts four key deposits—Whim Creek, Mons Cupri, Salt Creek, and Evelyn. These deposits feature structurally controlled, volcanic-hosted massive sulphide copper-zinc-lead mineralization, presenting significant development potential.
On-going exploration work at Evelyn resulted in discovering exciting new targets for future drilling campaigns scheduled in early 2025. Exploration works conducted in 2024 indicated high copper grades and new soil anomalies. The company is assessing the regional potential of the granted Evelyn Mining Lease for further high-grade VMS-type, polymetallic base metal deposits.
Anax Metals announced its recent application for an exploration license (E47/5275) covering 65 sub-blocks spanning approximately 207 sq. km, which extends the company’s landholding to the south and west of the Whim Creek joint venture tenement package. Once granted, the new tenement will be 100 percent owned by Anax. The majority of E47/5275 lies within the Whim Creek Greenstone Belt, which is highly prospective for volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) mineralization, similar to the Whim Creek and Mons Cupri deposits.
Production – Concentrator and Heap Leach
Since completing the definitive feasibility study in 2023, Anax has promoted Whim Creek as a regional processing hub, with potential for an expanded production capacity over 20 kt copper equivalent. Highlights of the technical report include FCF generation of $410 million over an eight-year mine life. Processing would be predominantly through the planned concentrator. Heap leaching is anticipated to begin in the second year of production.
Anax has achieved significant success with bioleaching technology, reporting up to 80 percent copper and 90 percent zinc extraction rates. This innovative approach enhances metal recovery and supports the company’s commitment to sustainable practices.
A processing hub with sorting, concentrator and heap leach facilities
The company believes the project will also provide a processing solution for surrounding projects located within trucking distance of Anax’s processing facility. In the long term, Anax plans to establish a Pilbara Base Metal Alliance to facilitate collaboration with other base metal projects in the region.
Management Team
Phillip Jackson - Chairman
Phillip Jackson is a barrister and solicitor with significant legal and international corporate experience, Phillip Jackson specialises in commercial and contract law, mining and energy law and corporate governance. He has been a director and chairman of a number of ASX and AIM listed minerals companies.
Geoff Laing - Managing Director
Geoff Laing is a chemical engineer with 30 years in mining and project development. He has been involved in the exploration and junior mining sector for the last 15 years, taking on corporate and advisory roles. He was a key player in Exco Resources’ divestment of a substantial copper asset for $175 million to Xstrata Copper, and as managing director, he delivered the successful takeover of the company by WH Sol Pattinson.
Peter Cordin - Non-executive Director
Peter Cordin is a civil engineer with over 45 years' global experience in mining and exploration, both at operational and senior management levels. He has direct experience in the construction and management of diamond and gold operations in Australia, Fenno-Scandinavia and Indonesia.
Phil Warren - Non-executive Director
Phil Warren is a chartered accountant with over 25 years’ experience in board governance, corporate advisory and capital raising advice. Warren has spent a number of years working overseas for major international investment banks. He is currently a non-executive director of ASX listed companies, including Family Zone Cyber Safety, Narryer Metals, Killi Resource and Rent.com.au. He was a founding director of Cassini Resources, which was subsequently acquired by Oz Minerals.
Jenine Owen - Chief Financial Officer
Jenine Owen joined Anax in 2020, where she is responsible for corporate risk management, financial management and financial reporting. She is a chartered accountant with extensive finance and commercial experience, including several CFO roles in ASX listed entities. Having started her career with Deloitte (Zimbabwe) in the external assurance division, she moved to London in 1999 where she held various finance and governance roles before settling in Australia in 2008. Prior to joining Anax, Owen was CFO at Predictive Discovery (ASX:PDI).
Andrew Mcdonald - General Manager
Andrew McDonald is a seasoned geologist with over 20 years of experience in project management, development, resource geology, and exploration across a wide range of commodities. He has held roles with several ASX-listed mining companies, where he has led project development and managed regulatory approvals for mining projects in both Australia and the United States.
Dan O’Hara – Environmental Manager
Dan O’Hara is an experienced environmental professional with over 15 years in environmental management across the mining, oil and gas, construction, and government sectors. In recent years, he has played a key role in securing environmental permits for mining projects in Western Australia.
Near-term copper producer targeting resource growth and a regional consolidation strategy
Anax Metals Limited Investor Kit
- Corporate info
- Insights
- Growth strategies
- Upcoming projects