Terra Metals (ASX:TM1) has made a second platinum group metal (PGM) discovery at the Southwest prospect within its Dante project in Western Australia.
Further assay results from initial reconnaissance drilling at the SW5 target have confirmed a wide zone of rich PGM-copper-nickel mineralisation.
SW5 is located more than 800 metres from the recently announced SW6 PGM discovery, highlighting that highly valuable PGM sulphide mineralisation occurs across separate sections of the Southwest area.
The fact that the mineralisation at SW5 differs in style from SW6 further supports the potential for Southwest to host a large, multi-phase magmatic sulfide system.
Further Testing Planned
The highlight hit from the SW5 discovery featured 69m at 0.92 grams per tonne PGE3 from 48m, including 32m at 1.19g/t PGE3, 0.12% copper, and 0.10% nickel from 49m, as well as 8m at 1.61g/t PGE3, 0.16% copper, and 0.15% nickel from 49m.
The area around this hole will now be a focus of testing for down-dip and along-strike extensions of the sulphide-bearing mafic package identified.
SW5 and SW6 sit outside the current Dante mineral resource estimate (MRE) of 148 million tonnes at 14.8% titanium dioxide, 0.54% vanadium pentoxide, 0.18% Cu, and 0.33g/t PGE3 (1.38% copper equivalent), containing approximately 22Mt titanium dioxide, 800,000t vanadium pentoxide, 270,000t copper, and 1.6million ounces of PGE3.
PGE3 is the sum of platinum, palladium, and gold present.
Improved SW Understanding
Chief executive officer Thomas Line called the discovery at SW5 a "significant step forward" in assisting the company’s understanding of the Southwest area.
“The fact that SW5 has intersected a broad, stratigraphically controlled sulphide horizon approximately 800m from the […] SW6 discovery demonstrates that mineralisation is not confined to a single point source, but is developing across multiple positions within the same magmatic system,” he said.
The company announced earlier this month that it had made a PGM-copper-nickel sulphide discovery at SW6 with first-pass reconnaissance reverse circulation drilling.
Terra is now awaiting further results from a recent resource upgrade and expansion drilling program from within the Dante MRE area.
“Our primary focus remains on the systematic growth and de-risking of the existing Dante MRE at Reef 1 and Reef 2, where a large resource upgrade and expansion program is well advanced and extensive metallurgical optimisation work is ongoing,” Mr Line said.
