Terra Metals’ drilling has more than doubled the strike of ‘Bushveld-like’ copper-PGE reefs at Dante Reefs to over 9km
Dante Reefs are similar to those at the Platreef PGE-nickel-copper mine, which are thicker and higher grade than other Bushveld reefs
More drilling could extend mineralised strike at the outcropping Dante Reefs that are mapped over a strike of 42km
Special Report: Terra Metals’ Dante Reefs discovery in WA’s Musgrave province is looking truly luscious after drilling more than doubled the strike of ‘Bushveld-like’ copper-PGE reefs to over 9km.
This indicates that more drilling could further extend the strike of these intriguing reefs and with the surface outcropping Dante Reefs mapped over a strike of 42km, that’s a lot of room for growth.
Terra Metals’ (ASX:TM1) first round of drilling confirmed multiple Platreef-style copper-PGE reefs were present, with over 3km of strike at Reef 1 and another 1.5km of strike at Reef 2.
Platreef-style reefs – as found at Ivanhoe Mines’ Platreef PGE-nickel mine in South Africa – stand out from other Bushveld reefs thanks to their combination of grade, thickness, geometry, scale and potential for significant critical mineral by-product credits.
This is hugely significant, as the Bushveld Complex itself hosts the world’s largest reserves of platinum group elements – including about 75% of the world’s platinum and about 50% of the world’s palladium resources – along with significant quantities of chromium, titanium and vanadium.
Unsurprisingly, the Bushveld also contains some of the world’s largest, longest running and most profitable PGE, copper, nickel, gold, vanadium and titanium mining operations with over 100 years of ongoing production.
While South Africa’s Bushveld was easily accessible for the old timers, the exploration at Dante Reefs raises the prospect of finding a similar deposit in remote and underexplored climes half a world away.
The Dante Reefs projects showing target reefs and drill collars. Pic: Terra Metals
Thicker and near surface mineralisation
While the similarity is hugely positive, Dante Reefs has a couple of advantages that make it stand out.
Mineralised sulphide reefs at Dante Reefs have an average thickness of about 10m with a higher-grade basal layer of about 5m – significantly thicker than the 1-2m thick reefs at Bushveld.
That’s also excluding the second, upper reef layer of lower grade but similar thickness at Dante Reef.
Additionally, while the 120Mt Platreef deposit, which is thicker than the other reefs in the Bushveld, sits 600m beneath the surface, Dante Reefs outcrop from surface.
This means that any future mining will not require massive amounts of infrastructure spending just to access the mineralisation and bring the ore to surface.
Preliminary wireframe model of Reef 2, including projected downdip shallow target extensions. Pic: Terra Metals
Strike length more than doubled
Results from a further 16 holes from its wide-spaced, first pass reconnaissance drilling on Reef 2 have now extended the strike of discovered Platreef-Style magmatic copper-PGE sulphide reefs to 6.2km, taking the total strike up to 9.2km.
Notable assays from drilling at Reef 2 include:
10m grading 0.86g/t PGE3 (platinum, palladium and gold), 0.85% V2O5 (vanadium pentoxide), 0.23% copper and 19.3% TiO2 (titanium dioxide) from a downhole depth of 84m (HRC009)
4m at 0.34% copper, 0.59g/t PGE3, 0.80% V2O5 ant 21.8% TiO2 from 106m including 1m at 1.29 g/t PGE3, 0.37% copper, 1.10% V2O5 and 24.7% TiO2 from 109m (HRC020); and,
5m at 0.87g/t PGE3, 0.71% V2O5, 0.24% copper and 19.1% TiO2 from 58m including 2m at 1.48 g/t PGE3, 0.11% copper, 0.91% V2O5 and 19.9% TiO2 from 61m (HRC019).
To date, 16 of the 17 holes drilled at Reef 1 and all 18 holes at Reef 2 have intersected Platreef-style sulphide reefs that are accompanied by significant grades of vanadium and titanium.
“These are exceptional drill results from wide-spaced, first-pass reconnaissance drilling on Reef 2,” managing director Thomas Line said.
“The Dante Reefs discovery is the first of its kind in Australia, and it continues to grow. These results highlight that the Platreef-style copper-PGE sulphide mineralisation at the Dante Reefs discovery extends for over 9km of outcropping strike across Reef 1 and Reef 2.
“This makes the Dante Reefs one of the largest magmatic sulphide reef deposits in terms of outcropping strike length globally, and we have more than 30km of outcropping strike remaining to be tested, indicating the strong potential for exploration upside with further drilling.
“We still have 10 more drillholes outstanding from Reef 1, 11.2km along strike from the Reef 1 discovery.”
Next steps
Besides the expected drill assays, TM1 expects to publish an exploration target for Reef 1 in the current quarter.
Preparations are currently being made to mobilise multiple rigs for infill and extensional drilling at the project.
Funding will come from the company’s successful $6m placement, the first tranche (~$4.1m) of which is expected to be received today.
This article was developed in collaboration with Terra Metals, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.
This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.
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