Saturn Metals (ASX:STN) Holds $110.7M in Cash as Apollo Hill Gets Its Mining Lease and Drilling Extends 1km North

Sonal Goyal

28 October 2026 01:11 PM AEDT

Saturn Metals (ASX:STN) Holds $110.7M in Cash as Apollo Hill Gets Its Mining Lease and Drilling Extends 1km North

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Key Highlights

Mining Lease M31/496, covering 11,700 hectares, was granted for the 2.83Moz Apollo Hill Gold Project during the September 2026 quarter.
The Section 38 Environmental Review Document was lodged with the WA Environmental Protection Authority on 23 September 2026.
Closing cash was $110.7 million after a $100 million placement and a $21.28 million Share Purchase Plan at $0.40 per share.
Step-out drilling returned 5m @ 11.26g/t Au from 49m and showed gold-bearing structures running up to 1km north of the current resource.

Saturn Metals Limited (ASX:STN) closed the September 2026 quarter with $110.7 million in cash, up from $40.4 million three months earlier, and with the main tenure and permitting pieces for its Apollo Hill Gold Project in Western Australia now in place. The company reported the grant of a key mining lease, the lodgement of its environmental review document, a completed capital raising and a set of drill results that stretch the known gold system to the north. Its Definitive Feasibility Study is scheduled for completion in the December quarter.

Mining Lease and Environmental Filing at Apollo Hill

Mining Lease M31/496 was granted by the Western Australian Department of Mines, Petroleum and Exploration following the mid-2026 Native Title Mining and Project Agreement. The 11,700-hectare lease fully encompasses the existing leases M31/486 and M39/296 and covers the 2.83Moz Mineral Resource, which stands at 174Mt grading 0.51g/t gold. It also accommodates infrastructure such as bore fields and road corridors and secures ground along strike from the deposit.

On 23 September 2026 Saturn submitted its Section 38 Environmental Review Document to the State Environmental Protection Authority. The timing fits a schedule that has Front End Engineering Design in early 2027, early works from mid-2027 and, subject to a development decision, plant construction from early 2028.

Feasibility work continued alongside the filings. Process engineering moved well beyond the 70 per cent gate, and the design covers a 10Mtpa primary crushing circuit, an overland conveyor and heap leach pads of roughly 1.5km in length and 50m in height. Water balance studies pointed to scope to reduce process water salinity from the 100,000 salt level assumed in the Pre-Feasibility Study, which can affect cyanide and lime consumption.

Drilling Pushes the Gold System 1km North

The quarter's drilling comprised 103 aircore holes for 10,029m, 33 reverse circulation holes for 8,272m and 13 diamond holes for 2,455.7m. Wide-spaced step-out holes showed gold-bearing structures continuing up to 1km north of the current resource boundary. Results included 5m @ 11.26g/t Au from 49m in AHRC1698, 6m @ 3.23g/t Au from 324m in AHRC1676, 11m @ 1.05g/t Au from 297m in AHRC1670 and 24m @ 0.55g/t Au from surface in AHAC3156.

The 11.26g/t intersection was logged in alluvial gravels at the contact with bedrock, and Saturn noted it could reflect either bedrock mineralisation or a deep-lead style of alluvial gold. Diamond hole AHDD0145 returned 0.4m @ 14.25g/t Au from 97.75m with visible gold, close to an earlier intercept of 4m @ 70.03g/t Au from 53m. Hole AHDD0103 recorded 7.5m @ 3.41g/t Au from 30.5m, including 1.5m @ 16.48g/t Au. A 10,000m in-fill reverse circulation program has started on the shallow northern footprint.

Funding, Board Change and Aquarius Licences

The 29 July 2026 placement raised $100 million at $0.40 per share, while the Share Purchase Plan took in $21.28 million from 1,272 shareholders against an initial target of $5.00 million. Saturn accepted every valid application. Placement proceeds of $39.79 million for 99.47 million shares remain unsettled pending approval from the FIRB for new cornerstone shareholder Golden Crane Holdings Limited. Martin Alciaturi joined the board as a Non-Executive Director from 12 October.

Exploration licences E31/1340, E31/1394 and E39/2439 were granted at the Aquarius Gold Prospect, about 30km south-east of Apollo Hill. Earlier Sumitomo aircore drilling there defined a 26.5km gold trend, with results such as 3m @ 8.51g/t Au from 102m and 33m @ 1.27g/t Au from 78m. Saturn holds 2,029.64km2 of contiguous tenure in Western Australia.

Where the Quarter Leaves Saturn

Saturn finished the period with mining tenure granted, its environmental submission lodged and $110.7 million in the bank, equal to 12.74 quarters of funding at the current spend rate under Appendix 5B. Drilling widened the footprint at Apollo Hill and added new licences at Aquarius, while the Definitive Feasibility Study and an updated Ore Reserve remain scheduled for the December quarter.

FAQs

Q: How much cash did Saturn Metals hold at 30 September 2026?

A: Saturn held $110.7 million, compared with $40.4 million at the start of the quarter. The increase followed a $100 million placement and a $21.28 million Share Purchase Plan.

Q: What is the size of the Apollo Hill Mineral Resource?

A: The resource is 174Mt grading 0.51g/t gold for 2.83 million ounces. The Ore Reserve from the Pre-Feasibility Study is 104.6Mt at 0.47g/t for 1,586,000 ounces.

Q: What did the latest drilling at Apollo Hill find?

A: Step-out holes showed gold-bearing structures extending up to 1km north of the resource. The best result was 5m @ 11.26g/t Au from 49m in hole AHRC1698.

Q: Where are the Aquarius licences located?

A: Exploration licences E31/1340, E31/1394 and E39/2439 sit about 30km south-east of Apollo Hill in the Leonora region of Western Australia. They lie along a 26.5km drill-defined gold trend.

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