Podium Minerals (ASX:POD) reports it has received assays confirming ‘high-grade’ 5E PGE (platinum group elements) from recent drilling at the Central Ore Zone, located within the Parks Reef Project in Western Australia.
Stage 9 drilling was completed by the company in March 2022, with the Central Ore Zone drilling completed in June 2022 and the final stage 10 drillhole diamond tails completed in early July 2022.
The company reports the remaining holes in stage 9 and 10 have had their 5E PGM assays returned, with 9 achieving ‘significant’ intercepts over 0.1g/t rhodium.
These results continue to highlight the consistent occurrences, both along the 15km strike length and down to 500m vertical of an elevated rhodium and iridium zone (over 500ppb) in the lower half of the PGM reef intercept.
Significant intersections recorded by Podium include 19m @ 2.48g/t 5E PGM (0.18g/t Rh and 0.07g/t Ir) from 76m, including 2m @ 12.90g/t 5E PGM (1.03g/t Rh and 0.39g/t Ir) from 88m in PRRC262.
Hole PRRD208 intersected 31m @ 1.35g/t 5E PGM (0.06g/t Hm and 0.02g/t Ir) from 189m, including 2m @ 5.60g/t 5E PGM (0.40g/t Rh and 0.16g/t Ir) from 212m.
Drillhole PRRD240 intersected 16m @ 1.88g/t 5E PGM (0.04g/t Rh and 0.01g/t Ir) from 169m, including 0.9m @ 10.88g/t 5E PGM (0.30g/t Rh and 0.13g/t Ir) from 184m.
“The presence of high-grade zones and confirmation of rhodium and iridium throughout the orebody will allow us to optimise our resource modelling and studies to consider these areas”
Podium Minerals Managing Director Sam Rodda said with these results the company has completed a crucial step in their path towards growth and development of Parks Reef.
“The presence of high-grade zones and confirmation of rhodium and iridium throughout the orebody will allow us to optimise our resource modelling and studies to consider these areas.
“Our work streams remain focused on growing and understanding the orebody and testing our metallurgy for a preferred processing path as part of refining our path to production.”.
Podium also reports recent 5E PGM intercepts achieved in stage 9 and 10 have also tested for chromium, considered as a deleterious metal in PGM smelters.
Parks Reef has seen very low values of chromium throughout the reef with maximum assays results around 0.1% Cr in the oxide and fresh (sulphide) horizons.
The company says these values are ‘significantly’ lower than typical operating mines in South Africa.
Podium says the stage 10 program aimed to further define the enlarged exploration target of 70Mt to 75Mt @ 1.2g/t to 1.6g/t 3E PGM for 2.7Moz to 3.8Moz 3E PGM.
It also notes the delivery of the updated Mineral Resource Estimate incorporating this target is on track to be delivered in October.
Podium Minerals is focused on becoming Australia’s first platinum group metals producer, and the scale and grade of the Parks Reef Resource provides the company the opportunity to support an emerging and responsible Australian critical metals mining industry.
The Parks Reef 5E PGM Project covers a 15km strike length with a deposit which also contains gold and base metals (copper-nickel-cobalt) mineralisation.
The orebody commences near surface and to date has been proven to continue to approximately 500m vertical depth, which remains open and shows consistency with near surface geology.
Images: Podium Minerals Ltd
