Assays from Terra Metals Ltd (ASX:TM1)'s SW5 target have delivered a second platinum group metal (PGM)-copper-nickel sulfide discovery at the Southwest Prospect within the Dante Project, adding to the earlier SW6 find and pointing to multiple mineralised positions across the broader Southwest area.
The company said first drillhole SWT011 returned a 69m continuously mineralised interval from 48m grading 0.92g/t PGE3, with several higher-grade zones and associated copper and nickel.
Within the broader intersection, SWT011 delivered 32m at 1.19g/t PGE3 with 0.12% copper and 0.10% nickel from 49m. This included 8m at 1.61g/t PGE3 with 0.16% copper and 0.15% nickel from 49m, as well as 2m at 1.99g/t PGE3 with 0.21% copper and 0.18% nickel from 50m.
Additional higher-grade intervals reported from SWT011 include 8m at 1.40g/t PGE3 with 0.14% copper and 0.12% nickel from 73m, 2m at 1.72g/t PGE3 with 0.17% copper and 0.14% nickel from 78m, 7m at 1.64g/t PGE3 with 0.16% copper from 94m, and 2m at 1.92g/t PGE3 with 0.20% copper and 0.10% nickel from 99m.
Geological read points to two mineralisation styles
SW5 is located around 800 metres south of the SW6 discovery, which the company said supports an interpretation that PGM sulfide mineralisation occurs at multiple locations across the Southwest area rather than being confined to a single position.
On geology, the company noted SW6 mineralisation at the northern prospect is interpreted to sit close to a potential feeder-pipe, while early interpretation of SW5 suggests a more stratigraphically controlled, reef-style sulfide horizon located further from the feeder system. It said the presence of these two mineralisation styles supports the potential for a large, multi-phase magmatic sulfide system in the Southwest area.
The company also highlighted that SWT011 was not included in earlier visual sulfide estimations previously reported from Southwest, and assays remain outstanding for all other reported visual sulfides from the area.
Resource context and upcoming results flow
SW5 and SW6 sit outside the current Dante Mineral Resource Estimate of 148Mt at 14.8% TiO₂, 0.54% V₂O₅, 0.18% copper and 0.33g/t PGE3 (1.38% CuEq), containing about 22Mt TiO₂, 800Kt V₂O₅, 270Kt copper and 1.6Moz PGE3.
Assays from the recent resource upgrade and expansion drilling program across the Dante MRE area (Reef 1 and Reef 2) remain pending and are expected to be reported progressively through the quarter, alongside ongoing metallurgical optimisation testwork.