AngloGold Ashanti Australia has concluded the first phase of an exploration earn-in agreement by investing A$10m in Inflection Resources’ copper-gold projects in New South Wales (NSW), Australia.
The company has selected four copper-gold projects – Duck Creek, Trangie, Crooked Creek and Nyngan – to advance to the second phase of the agreement.
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Inflection’s projects in NSW are part of the Macquarie Arc, known for its significant copper-gold deposits.
The company employs a strategic exploration approach, utilising mud-rotary drilling followed by diamond core drilling to identify mineralised bodies.
Following the completion of the first phase, AngloGold Ashanti has exercised its right to acquire a 9.9% equity stake in Inflection.
Inflection will issue 11,133,399 common shares at a deemed price of C$0.808 ($0.563) per share, subject to a statutory hold period. This issuance will bring Inflection’s total issued and outstanding common shares to 112,458,569.
The exploration earn-in agreement was initially announced in June 2023.
The agreement’s second phase allows AngloGold to earn a 51% interest in each project by funding A$7m towards exploration expenditures on each of them over three years.
Step-out drilling under this phase has commenced at the Trangie project, following up on gold-copper mineralisation announced in February 2025.
Inflection president and CEO Alistair Waddell said: “The completion of the Phase I agreement with AngloGold Ashanti is a major milestone for the company. We are extremely pleased that AngloGold Ashanti has selected four projects to advance to Phase II as this will provide the necessary capital to drill and potentially develop these projects within the northern extension of the Macquarie Arc.
“We also welcome AngloGold Ashanti as a new shareholder of the company and we look forward to continuing the discovery-focused partnership in New South Wales. We are particularly excited about the current drilling on the Phase II Trangie project where the company recently reported highly encouraging drill results.”
In the third phase of the earn-in agreement, AngloGold Ashanti has the option to increase its stake to 65% in each project by investing an additional A$20m in each over two years.
If the company does not complete this phase, its ownership interest will revert to 49%.
Inflection reserves the right to acquire this interest at a mutually agreed price or fair value within a designated time frame.
The fourth phase offers AngloGold Ashanti the opportunity to earn an additional 10% interest, potentially taking its ownership to 75%, by completing a pre-feasibility study and granting Inflection a 1% or 2% net smelter return royalty.
In February 2025, AngloGold Ashanti received an option from Matsa Resources to acquire a majority stake in its Lake Carey gold project in Western Australia for a cash consideration of A$101m.
