Terra Metals Ltd (ASX:TM1) has intersected multiple new zones of massive, semi-massive and net-textured sulphides at the Southwest Prospect within its Dante Project in Western Australia’s West Musgrave region — a development the company says highlights the potential for a large-scale, multi-commodity magmatic system.
The sulphide assemblage — comprising pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite and pentlandite — is consistent with nickel-copper-cobalt-platinum group metal (PGM) mineralisation typical of magmatic sulphide systems.
Drill core from hole SWDD006 (226.55 – 226.85 m) showing net-textured to semi-massive magmatic sulfide mineralisation composed predominantly of pyrrhotite, pentlandite, and chalcopyrite.
Assay results for the newly completed diamond holes are pending, with the first results expected shortly and further assays to be released progressively over the next three months.
Expanding a large-scale mineral system
The new sulphide intersections occur within, below and adjacent to the thick titanium–vanadium–magnetite reefs identified in earlier drilling at Southwest, suggesting overlapping oxide and sulphide mineralisation within a single evolving magma chamber.
Location of the outcropping magnetite reefs relative to the location of the MRE and drill holes overlaying regional aeromagnetic data (AMAG) displayed using a pseudo-colour spectrum.
Terra said the continuity of layered sulphide zones across several drillholes indicates a laterally and vertically persistent system — one capable of concentrating significant base and precious metals.
(Left) Net-textured chalcopyrite–pentlandite–pyrrhotite mineralisation in hole SWDD006 (226.55–226.85 m) showing interconnected sulfide networks within a magnetite-bearing mafic host, typical of magmatic segregation and coalescence of immiscible sulfide melt. (Right) Bornite– chalcopyrite sulfide band developed along a fracture plane in SWDD002 (86.7–89.42 m). Assays pending.
“These new visual sulphide intersections are a very encouraging development, demonstrating that the Southwest Prospect hosts both thick titanium-vanadium reef packages and potentially higher-grade copper-nickel-cobalt-PGM sulphide zones within the same system,” said managing director and CEO Thomas Line.
“Our drilling strategy is delivering exactly what we hoped — expanding the mineralised footprint while also vectoring into areas that show the strongest potential for metal-rich sulphide accumulation,” he added. “With assays due shortly, and drilling continuing along multiple reef lines, we are rapidly progressing our understanding of what is shaping up to be a large-scale, multi-commodity discovery.”
(Left to right) Chalcopyrite-rich fracture-fill vein and adjacent net-textured to globular sulfide mineralisation in drillhole SWDD003 (75.38–75.80 m); disseminated chalcopyrite–pyrrhotite–pentlandite sulfides in SWDD003 (200.1-200.6m); and net-textured magmatic sulfides in SWDD002 (110.3-110.7m). Assays pending.
Targeting metal-rich zones
Terra’s technical team interprets the new results as evidence of repeated injections of fertile magma that triggered sulphur saturation and accumulation of immiscible sulphide liquids — a process capable of scavenging copper, nickel, cobalt and platinum group elements.
Recent holes have recorded increasing proportions of copper-nickel sulphides downhole, possibly marking the transition into a feeder conduit zone. Downhole electromagnetic surveys and further diamond and reverse circulation-diamond tail drilling are under way to refine targets and vector towards these metal-rich accumulations.
Ground EM anomaly image, showing Airborne EM anomalies, pospect names, and drill collars within the broader Southwest area.
Reinforcing the Dante growth story
The 12-square-kilometre Southwest Prospect has emerged as a cornerstone growth area within the broader Dante Project. Earlier programs mapped and extended reef horizons over 5.2 kilometres of additional strike and identified strong platinum-palladium anomalies from surface auger sampling.
Located within the Jameson Layered Intrusion — part of the Giles Complex — Dante is regarded as a highly prospective mafic-ultramafic system comparable in style to South Africa’s Bushveld Complex, which hosts some of the world’s largest PGM, nickel, copper and vanadium deposits.
Dante Project location map displaying surrounding companies’ tenure and major deposits.
Across the Dante Project, more than 17,000 metres of drilling have already defined extensive, shallowly dipping, mineralised reef horizons, with further targets remaining open along an 80-kilometre strike.
Terra’s ongoing work at Southwest aims to integrate geological, geochemical and geophysical datasets to define high-grade sulphide zones that could complement the thick titanium-vanadium reefs already discovered — reinforcing Dante’s credentials as a major new multi-metal discovery in Western Australia.