BBX Minerals hits platinum from surface at Três Estados project
A highlight interval from the latest assay batch Tres Estados was 2m at 5.08g/t 5E PGM from 43m.
BBX Minerals (ASX: BBX) has identified platinum mineralisation from surface in samples from two holes of a previous diamond drilling campaign at the Três Estados project in Brazil’s Apuí region.
Assays were conducted on drill holes TED 013 and TED 014 from drilling completed in the 2020-2021 program.
The holes were evaluated for gold, platinum, palladium, iridium and rhodium (collectively known as 5E PGM).
Precious metal mineralisation was encountered in both holes including a 2m interval of 5.08 grams per tonne 5E PGM from 43m.
TED-013 contained widespread platinum mineralisation and local gold, iridium and rhodium values – concentrated mainly in the upper 45m.
The mineralisation remains open at depth.
The other hole (TED-014) returned significant platinum mineralisation in the upper portion of the weathered zone, plus isolated iridium values in the deeper portion.
5E PGM results
Best results from TED-013 were 9m at 1.59g/t 5E PGM (1.52g/t platinum and 0.06g/t rhodium) from 18m; 6.1m at 2.38g/t 5E PGM (2.23g/t platinum, 0.07g/t rhodium and 0.08g/t gold) from 30.9m; and 2m at 5.08g/t 5E PGM (4.12g/t platinum and 0.96g/t iridium) from 43m.
The other hole had highlight intercepts of 6m at 2.81g/t 5E PGM (2.81g/t platinum) from surface; and 6m at 1.75g/t 5E PGM (1.70g/t platinum and 0.05g/t palladium) from 10m.
Last week, BBX reported the results of two prior holes from the same campaign, both of which showed platinum content and local iridium and rhodium values from surface.
Project location
The Três Estados project is 60km southeast of Apuí, over the mapped Colider group, which is a prolific volcanic Proterozoic unit for gold and base metal deposits.
BBX’s tenements are located over a series of gabbroic intrusions defined by prominent east-west and northeast-southwest magnetic anomalies, local gold-in-soil geochemical anomalies and shallow artisanal gold workings.
The anomalies are largely associated with magnetic lows within or adjacent to the high magnetic trend and are suggestive of magnetite destruction by hydrothermal fluids.
Mineralisation intersected during initial reverse circulation drilling at Três Estados was shown to have the same characteristics as that at BBX’s nearby Ema gold project, and requires unlocking prior to assay or recovery.