Podium Minerals has confirmed the presence of high-value rhodium and iridium in its maiden drilling campaign for platinum group metals at Parks Reef in WA as the company pushes towards production.
Drill results include 27m at 2.34 g/t 5E PGM from 9m downhole, 15m grading 2.04 g/t 5E PGM and 20m going 3.3 g/t 5E PGM from 17m including 7m grading 6.11 g/t 5E PGM.
5E PGM represents a combination of platinum, palladium, gold, rhodium and iridium.
Podium said stage 9 and 10 drilling continued to support its previously announced inferred resource of 2.8 million ounces of combined platinum, palladium and gold.
Assays have extended the company’s metal basket to include rhodium and iridium, adding considerable contained metal value in the process.
Podium is planning to become Australia’s first platinum group metals company at Parks Reef to produce platinum, palladium, gold, rhodium and iridium known as 5E PGMs.
Work is underway to revisit previous drill samples to confirm the presence of rhodium and iridium among its earlier assays that contained platinum, palladium and gold.
Stage 10 drilling was aimed at confirming the presence of mineralisation in the large exploration target zone adjacent to the current resource.
Of the 51 holes drilled, 27 holes are still awaiting assays. All holes achieved intersections of the reef, underscoring the reef’s significant continuity and consistency over its full 15km strike length and in line with projected orebody widths, with a significant number exceeding grade expectations.
Podium Minerals’ Managing Director and CEO, Sam Rodda said: “The market price of rhodium has been greater than US$14,000 per ounce recently and Iridium greater than US$4500 per ounce. The inclusion of these rare and valuable elements has potential to add significant value to the project.”
The 5E PGM Parks Reef project is a 15km-long contact zone mineralisation between mafic and ultramafic rock units. Ore commences near surface and has been proven to 500m below ground and the orebody remains open in all directions.
Stage 11 drilling is being planned to extend the known resource to a vertical depth of 350m. Stage 12 is being planned as infill and technical drilling targeting higher grade and larger width zones of the reef that have been identified as likely starter-mine locations in the recently released mining concept study.
Metallurgical test work continues to determine the process for optimal metal recovery and the preferred path to market for the recovered metals. Assays and metallurgical results will inform a planned scoping study.
Podium says its strategy is to prove and develop a high-value, long-life Australian PGM asset. The significant scale and grade of the Parks Reef Resource provides Podium an opportunity to support an emerging and responsible Australian critical metals mining industry.
Podium points to an increasing global demand for decarbonised technologies that require PGMs such as auto catalysts and hydrogen energy-fuel cell catalysts.
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