Antares Metals (ASX:AM5) is focused on returning ‘high-grade’ intervals at the Queens Gift prospect in its first go targeting uranium, CEO Johan Lambrechts tells Mining.com.au.
“This is the first drilling campaign by Antares on any of our uranium projects, so we are excited by the opportunity represented by drilling this critical commodity,” Lambrechts tells this news service.
“The program obviously hopes to intersect some high-grade uranium intervals, but it also serves to test and expand the current known mineralisation envelope deeper.”
As reported by Mining.com.au last week, the company is looking to upgrade the prospect’s resource to a JORC 2012 classification. It currently hosts 1.7 million pounds of triuranium octaoxide @ 330 parts per million U3O8.
Located within the greater Mt Isa North Project in northwest Queensland, Queens Gift is currently listed under the JORC 2004 category.
Drilling will cover an initial area of 1,000m to extend mineralisation down dip, with results expected in the new year.
Antares will continue to build its suite of targets, including the Conglomerate Creek and Cromwell areas for copper exploration, and the Skevi and B8A zones in the uranium space.
Last month Antares returned rock chip samples grading up to 20.5% copper from the Cromwell discovery, also located within the Mt Isa North Project, as reported by Mining.com.au.
The company has planned drilling for several targets, scheduled to begin once the season opens in 2026.
“We believe that both copper and uranium are important metals for the future of the human race, especially when considering our adoption and even adaptation to technology and the energy required to power it,” the CEO explains to this news service.
“Our tenement holding is very prospective as we have made clear by the Conglomerate Creek and Cromwell copper discoveries in our first exploration season in Queensland.
“Upgrading the Queens Gift uranium resource increases our exposure to the energy transition market along with our strong copper prospectivity.”
According to the Department of Industry Science and Resources’ (DISR) September 2025 Quarterly, Australia is the fourth largest producer of uranium, exporting $1.2 billion worth in exports over the 2024-25 period.
DISR forecasts the price of the commodity to rise to an average of US$88 per pound in 2027 due to rising demand for nuclear power generation, increasing uranium consumption from 95,200 tonnes in 2024 to 97,400 tonnes in 2027.
Export volumes are expected to jump to 6,600 tonnes in 2026-27, currently sitting at 5,000 tonnes in 2024-25.
Uranium has been used as a source of concentrated energy for more than 60 years according to the World Nuclear Association, growing in demand due to the global shift towards clean electricity.
The commodity plays a key role in powering nuclear generators, as well as being used in the production of medicines.
Located 80km north of Mt Isa, the Queens Gift prospect outcrops as a ridge extending for 1.3km, hosting similarities to Paladin Energy’s (ASX:PDN) Valhalla discovery.
The Mt Isa North Project covers an area of 2,300km2 in a region prospective for mining-oriented infrastructure, mines and processing facilities, water and power utilities, as well as rail and national highway transport connections.
Antares Metals is a junior explorer focused on uncovering copper and uranium deposits across Australia.
Write to Maddison Elliott at Mining.com.au
Images: Antares Metals
