Things just got interesting for Podium Minerals at its Parks Reef platinum group metals project in Western Australia. Five prior drill holes have been re-assayed for a full suite of PGMs and delivered materially higher grades of rhodium and iridium than previously reported. Some assays went as high as 1.35 grams per tonne rhodium and 0.70 g/t iridium. Follow-up drilling is underway.
Located in the mid-west region of WA, Parks Reef already boasts an impressive 1,390,000 ounces of combined platinum, palladium and gold, together with base metals credits for 53,900 tonnes of copper.
Podium now appears to have added further lustre to the project with the re-assaying of 5 previously drilled holes as it looks to unravel the full value of the Parks Reef deposit.
The 5 high-grade PGM samples were selected by the company from the western and eastern sections of the mineralised reef. The samples were re-assayed with the goal of obtaining results that consist of a full PGM suite, including rhodium and iridium.
The re-assaying process used for the 5 samples was the more concise and more expensive nickel sulphide method.
The standard assaying process Podium normally utilises is a conventional lead-based method that provides detection of platinum, palladium and gold, otherwise known as 3E. The existing resources at Parks Reef are based on assaying using the lead-based technique.
Stand-out results include 7 metres going 5.75 g/t 3E PGM, 0.32 g/t rhodium and 0.14 g/t iridium from 89m, including a head-turning high-grade interval of 1m at 25.74 g/t 3E PGM, 1.35 g/t rhodium and 0.70 g/t iridium from 91m.
In another hole, a 6-metre intercept going 3.75 g/t 3E PGM, 0.15g/t rhodium and 0.07g/t iridium from 142m was recorded. That intersection including 1m at 15.29 g/t 3E PGM, 0.40 g/t rhodium and 0.20 g/t iridium from 142m.
Previously released assays for rhodium recorded grades between 0.08 and 0.16 g/t.
Podium Minerals Executive Chairman, Clayton Dodd said: “We are delighted with these initial results for rhodium and iridium and when combined with the results from the platinum, palladium and gold assays from the same drill holes, unquestionably they represent the most significant results to date from Parks Reef. With current rhodium prices some 20 times and iridium five times that of the current platinum price, it doesn’t take a lot of grade of either to have a significant impact on the estimated weighted average price per Podium PGM ounce. These results have given us great confidence to include further assays for the full suite of PGM’s for inclusion in future mineral resources estimates.”
The company says the base prices for the current suite of PGM’s at Parks Reef are US$1,240 per ounce of platinum, US$2,999 per ounce of palladium, US$29,500 per ounce of rhodium, US$6,300 per ounce of iridium and US$1,779 per ounce for gold.
A strong correlation between rhodium and iridium and the high-grade 3E PGM grades was also reported by Podium.
The rhodium results cannot be incorporated into the existing resources at Parks Reef due to the limited testing. However, all samples from past drilling campaigns have been stored by the company for future evaluation.
Podium plans to include the rhodium results when it pursues in-fill drilling to update the Parks Reef resource into the indicated category, at which time a 5E PGM resource estimate will be delivered that incorporates both rhodium and iridium.
Parks Reef is already looking the goods and the bumper grade rhodium and iridium numbers from the 5-hole re-assaying program appear to take the project to another level. Podium will no doubt be hoping its next sortie teases out further solid hits of the two lucrative metals as it advances its exploration endeavours at the project.
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