Terra Metals Ltd (ASX:TM1, OTC:PNGZF) has detailed significant progress across exploration, resource development and corporate initiatives at its flagship Dante Project in Western Australia.
During the quarter, Terra secured a A$4 million placement to strategic investors, including Golden Energy and Resources Pte Ltd (GEAR), Matt Latimore (Founder and President of M Resources Pty Ltd), and Tribeca Investment Partners. The capital raise not only strengthens the company’s balance sheet, but also brings high-profile backing to support ongoing exploration and development work.
Strong results from Phase 2 drilling and metallurgical test work
Final assays from Phase 2 drilling at Reef 2 North confirmed high-grade mineralisation from surface and demonstrated continuity across the Dante Reefs system, closing a 2.7-kilometre gap in previous drilling.
These results, coupled with wide mineralised zones, high metal recoveries and strong concentrate grades from Phase 1 metallurgical test work, support the potential for a low-strip ratio, open-cut mining scenario.
The company is advancing a maiden Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) and Phase 2 metallurgical optimisation for the Dante Reefs discovery. Completion of the maiden MRE is expected in the coming weeks.
Exploration and tenement expansion
Terra launched a broad reconnaissance exploration program targeting a series of large, untested interpreted reef layers across the Dante Project area.
In parallel, the company acquired a 618-square-kilometre tenement package adjacent to the Dante Project, with field activities now underway to assess potential strike extensions of mineralised systems at Reef 1 and Reef 2.
With all regulatory approvals secured, Phase 3 drilling is expected to begin shortly. The campaign will target copper-critical metals within outcropping reef layers and electromagnetic anomalies, while also infilling and extending known mineralisation at Reef 1 and Reef 2.
Dante – in depth
Terra Metals’ Dante Project in the West Musgrave region of Western Australia hosts significant copper, gold, platinum group metals, titanium and vanadium mineralisation within the same geological complex. Located near BHP’s major Nebo-Babel development, the project has demonstrated strong potential for large-scale, multi-metal discoveries.
Dante Project location map displaying surrounding companies’ tenure and major deposits.
In 2024, Terra made two major Bushveld-style reef discoveries, collectively known as the Dante Reefs. These stratiform copper-gold-PGM-vanadium-titanium reefs span at least 20 kilometres within the Jameson Layered Intrusion, part of the Giles Complex. More than 17,000 metres of drilling has confirmed a laterally extensive reef system mapped over 10 kilometres of strike and extending from surface to 250 metres depth.
Additional untested reef targets have been identified across more than 80 kilometres of strike, supported by recent tenement acquisitions that expand the project’s potential to several hundred kilometres.
The company is now finalising preparations for its Phase 3 drilling program, targeting untested outcropping reef layers and electromagnetic (EM) anomalies. All approvals are in place, with drilling expected to commence in the coming weeks. Future drill programs will test broader areas within the expanded project footprint.
During the quarter, Terra completed the acquisition of HRM Exploration Pty Ltd, adding four contiguous exploration licences covering 618 square kilometres. This acquisition strengthens Terra’s position within the Jameson Layered Intrusion, a geological setting considered analogous to South Africa’s Bushveld Province.
Geology map of the West Musgrave Region, showing the highly prospective Jameson Layered Intrusion, the existing significant deposits, Dante Project tenure, and the proposed HRM acquisition tenure.
The broader Musgrave Block, which hosts the Giles Complex, spans 140,000 square kilometres and lies at the intersection of three major Australian cratons.