Results from deep diamond drill holes at Podium Minerals’ Parks Reef project have provided strong evidence that grades and widths of the 15km long reef could continue down to a vertical depth of at least 500m.
The company says this latest result provides confidence further drilling of the reef below a vertical depth of 250m may result in additions to the recently released mineral resource estimate of 52.2 million tonnes at 1.64 grams per tonne for three million ounces of 5E PGM.
5E PGM represents a combination of platinum, palladium, gold, rhodium and iridium compared with 3E PGM that only records platinum, palladium and gold.
In April the company announced results of a diamond drill hole intercept of 5.7m at 2.14 g/t 5E PGM from 581m. At the time Podium believed the mineralisation could extend past this depth and planned further sampling.
The prediction has been proven with the latest results showing a 16m hit going 1.34 g/t 5E PGM from 604m including a 2m intercept grading 2.26 g/t 5E PGM from 617m.
The new 16m intersection can be broken down to grades of 0.63 g/t platinum, 0.65 g/t palladium, 0.03 g/t gold, 0.07 g/t rhodium and 0.03 g/t iridium.
Podium Minerals Head of Geology, Mark Fleming said: “The presence of a consistent high-grade 5E PGM zone close to the top of the intercept and a high-value zone associated with Rh in the bottom portion of the intercept provides a number of mining study options”
Previous deep drilling results from the April program show an 11.7m intersection at 3.71 g/t 5E PGM from 666.7m including 1.4m hit going a remarkable 11.58 g/t from 666.7m in addition to a 2.2m section recording 9.53 g/t from 669.8m.
A third deep hole returned a 14.3m intercept at 1.33 g/t 5E PGM from 644.7m.
Podium recently officially added rhodium and iridium to its mineral resource estimate at Parks Reef creating what it says is Australia’s first defined 5E PGM resource.
Just this week the PGM explorer received results from 30 of the 53 holes drilled as part of its stage 10 campaign designed to firm up the presence of rhodium and iridium.
The stage 10 assay highlights recorded a 34m section going 1.87 grams per tonne 5E PGM from 76m including a 1m hit at an impressive 14.41 g/t 5E PGM from 109m.
Podium will use the latest results with new modelling to deliver a mineral resource upgrade later this month to consider potential high-grade and bulk PGM mining options.
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By Matt Birney
