Anax Metals Limited has decided to upgrade its September 2023 Whim Creek Heap Leach Scoping Study to a full Feasibility Study, moving beyond the previous scoping-level assessment to evaluate potential leaching operations running alongside the standalone concentrator project.

The upcoming study will incorporate results from larger-scale one-metre column leach testwork undertaken at CSIRO, which demonstrated copper extractions of 77% to 80% and zinc extractions exceeding 90% from lower-grade ores. The scope also covers processing enhancements such as investigating pyrite leaching, revised capital and operating cost estimates for the heap leach circuit, SX-EW plant and zinc sulphate processing plant, updated exchange rate and metal pricing assumptions, and a refined production schedule integrated with the broader Whim Creek development plan.

Anax is positioning the Whim Creek project in Western Australia as a central processing hub in the Pilbara region, designed to treat primary and secondary ores through a hybrid combination of conventional flotation and heap leaching. The heap leach circuit is being evaluated as an addition to the standalone base case concentrator project.

The previous definitive feasibility study estimated a pre-tax NPV of $270 million and development capex of $71 million. In contrast, the updated definitive feasibility study figures reported earlier in 2026 outlined a higher pre-tax NPV of A$501 million, an increased development cost of approximately A$91 million, a 98% internal rate of return, and projected pre-tax free cash flows of A$723 million over a 10-year mine life.

Anax expects to complete the Whim Creek Heap Leach Feasibility Study in the first quarter of 2027. Meanwhile, the company continues to target a final investment decision for the broader Whim Creek project in the fourth quarter of calendar 2026.

Read the full announcement: Commencement of Heap Leach Feasibility Study