Podium accelerates Parks Reef PGMs growth quest

ASX-listed platinum group metals explorer, Podium Minerals, has flipped the switch on an accelerated RC drilling campaign at its Parks Reef PGMs project in the Mid West region of WA as it looks to extend mineral resources across the entire 15km strike length within the company’s ground holdings.

The Perth-based company has just kicked off the new resource drilling campaign totalling approximately 6,000m in the quest to fire up its Parks Reef growth strategy. While the drill rods start turning again, Podium is also nearing completion of a resource upgrade incorporating the results from RC drilling undertaken in the September quarter.

The earlier 1,870m program, consisting of 17 holes, was aimed at extending the resources over a combined strike length of 8.5km.

As they currently stand, the global inferred mineral resource numbers for Parks Reef comprise 23 million tonnes of oxide and fresh ore grading 1.45 grams per tonne 3E PGMs containing an estimated 1,140,000 ounces of combined platinum, palladium and gold. Podium has also put out a Parks Reef copper resource totalling a contained 37,000 tonnes of the metal.

Drilling to date has delineated resources in three separate mineralised blocks in the west, central and eastern sections of the Parks Reef project area. The triumvirate of resource blocks extend along a combined total of 6.9km of the 15km mineralised strike length of Parks Reef that Podium has identified within 100m of surface. It says mineralisation remains open along strike and at depth.

Notable RC intercepts from the most recently completed drilling program were 19m grading 2.11 grams per tonne 3E PGMs from 18m including 4m at 4.41 g/t PGMs from 18m, 6m at 3.20 g/t PGMs from 21m, 26m at 1.52 g/t PGMs from 124m, 18m at 1.28 g/t PGM from 102m, 15m at 1.40 g/t PGMs from 141m and 6m at 1.81 g/t PGMs from 92m.

According to the company, drilling has consistently encountered thick intercepts of mineralisation along the contact between mafic and ultramafic rock units. Two distinct zones of metal deposition have been modelled by Podium – an upper gold and copper-enriched base metals horizon and an underlying main PGMs-rich reef.

The fresh round of drilling has commenced in the Parks Reef eastern sector, with up to half of the planned 6,000m expected to be done and dusted before Christmas.

Podium’s growth strategy for Parks Reef involves continued systematic drilling to test the full 15km strike length of Parks Reef. The company is looking to delineate a materially significant resource base, as well as carry out test-work and process design to determine a preferred processing route, and work towards a scoping study on a potential project development.

The Parks Reef project spans 77sqkm of mining leases over the Weld Range Complex situated between the regional mining towns of Meekatharra and Cue in WA’s Murchison minerals province.

Is your ASX listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au