Terra Metals (ASX:TM1) has extended the Southwest platinum group element (PGE3), copper, and nickel Main Sulfide Corridor by 150m to more than 1,100m of strike through diamond drilling at its Dante Project in Western Australia.
The approximately 15% strike extension increases the potential scale of the mineralised system, remaining open along strike and at depth.
Complete assays for SWRD052 confirmed ‘high-grade’ reef mineralisation with 275m @ 0.91 grams per tonne PGE3, 0.17% nickel (Ni) from 170m — including 18.5m @ 1.53g/t PGE3, 0.21% Ni, and 0.13% copper (Cu) from 231m — and 8m @ 2.19g/t PGE3, 0.28% Ni, and 0.30% Cu from 355m.
The hole also returned 114m @ 0.95g/t PGE3, 0.15% Ni from 454m — including 15m @ 2.21g/t PGE3, 0.22% Ni, and 0.13% Cu from 480m — and 12m @ 2.24g/t PGE3, 0.17% Ni, and 0.14% Cu from 539m.
SWRC083 returned 73m @ 0.66g/t PGE3, 0.13% Ni, and 0.12% Cu from 12m — including 4m @ 1.88g/t PGE3, 0.19% Ni, and 0.22% Cu from 21m — completing the company’s largest cross-section at Southwest to date.
SWDD017 extended the interpreted northern limit of the Southwest Main Sulfide Zone by approximately 150m, intersecting 41m @ 0.34g/t PGE3, 0.09% Ni, and 0.11% Cu from 195m, including 2m @ 2.18g/t PGE3, 0.36% Ni, and 0.27% Cu from 210m.
General Manager for Exploration and Operations Barry Jones says the geology at Southwest keeps delivering.
“Complete assays for SWRD052 have pushed high-grade reef mineralisation well beyond what we’d previously reported — a broad 275m at 0.91g/t PGE3, plus a further 114m at 0.95g/t PGE3, with several thick zones inside that grading above 2g/t PGE3 and strong Ni and Cu credits alongside the platinum group elements,” Jones adds.
“SWRC083 is equally pleasing — it bears out our earlier read that the mineralised system extends close to surface, across the largest cross-section we’ve drilled at Southwest to date.”
Oxide-gold discovery adds new layer at Southwest
While the Main Sulfide Corridor remains the primary focus, the latest drilling has also returned encouraging shallow oxide-gold and cobalt mineralisation, adding another dimension to the Southwest system.
SWRC059 intersected 1m @ 1.75g/t gold (Au), 0.24g/t platinum (Pt), 0.26g/t palladium (Pd), and 1,160 parts per million (ppm) cobalt (Co) from 16m. The intercept sits within a broader 3m zone grading 0.83g/t Au, 0.21g/t Pt, 0.21g/t Pd, and 862ppm Co from 15m.
These shallow oxide-gold and cobalt zones indicate that the mineralised system is not restricted to the primary PGE-Cu-Ni reefs, with the potential for additional critical minerals at shallower levels that may complement the main sulfide corridor.
CEO Thomas Line says the results reinforce Southwest as a ‘growth engine’ for Terra Metals.
“Extending the mineralised strike by a further 150 metres to more than 1,100 metres — a roughly 15% strike extension, entirely outside our existing 148 million tonne [Mt] Dante Reefs Resource — speaks to the scale of what we are uncovering, and the system remains open along strike and at depth, including down dip,” Line notes.
Completed heritage surveys have opened up a substantial new area for exploration and resource definition drilling at Southwest. Five drill rigs remain active, with more than 52,000m drilled to date and results from 22,612m reported.
Southwest represents a new mineralised corridor outside the existing 148Mt Dante mineral resource and is not confined to a single reef. Drilling has also identified broad mineralisation across multiple ultramafic units.
Terra Metals plans to deliver a maiden Southwest mineral resource estimate in late 2026, with the goal of progressing toward a Prefeasibility Study.
Write to JC Villarba at Mining.com.au
Images: Terra Metals
