Terra Metals (ASX:TM1) has entered into an option agreement to acquire privately held HRM Exploration, which owns four exploration licences contiguous to the Dante Project in Western Australia.
HRM’s tenement package, covering 618km2, will strengthen Terra’s position in the Jameson Layered Intrusion, which is analogous to the Bushveld Province of South Africa.
As part of the acquisition, the company has already issued 8.33 million shares to HRM as a non-refundable option fee.
Terra Metals, which has a market capitalisation of $11.12 million, has 12 months to exercise the option, which will require the issue of 7.5 million shares initially and up to 11.25 million shares, subject to performance conditions.
One of these performance milestones is the definition of a resource of not less than 150,000 tonnes of copper equivalent.
The acquisition is conditional upon Terra Metals obtaining necessary shareholder and regulatory approvals.
CEO Thomas Line says this is an opportunistic transaction to build upon the existing tenement holding in the West Musgrave region, which has potential to become a “globally significant critical minerals hub for Australia”.
“The 12-month option is on favourable terms, and we will continue to prioritise assessment of the large polymetallic Dante Reefs copper-gold-platinum group metal-titanium-vanadium discoveries, as well as testing of new priority drill targets at the Dante Project,” Line says.
This news comes after Terra Metals announced drilling results which demonstrate consistent shallow mineralisation and highlight the potential for “large-scale, high-grade” polymetallic development opportunities from surface at Dante.
Assays were received from 27 of the 28 reverse circulation holes drilled at the Reed 1 North deposit within the Dante Project, which returned 9m @ 18.6% titanium oxide, 6m @ 19.2% titanium oxide, and 4m @ 21.3% titanium oxide.
Line says the results confirm the scale, grade, and continuity of mineralisation from surface over a 2.5km strike.
“The latest assays highlight the project’s potential as a significant multi-commodity discovery, with high-grade titanium together with copper, gold, platinum group metals, and vanadium within the same mineralised system, over a large scale,” Line notes.
The Dante Project contains magmatic copper, gold, platinum group metal, titanium, and vanadium discoveries in the same geological complex and in close proximity to one of the largest mining development projects — BHP’s (ASX:BHP) Nebo-Babel deposit.
Terra Metals is a diversified mineral explorer focused on its Dante, Onslow, and Southern Cross projects across Western Australia.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Terra Metals
