Future Metals NL (ASX:FME, AIM:FME) is progressing its maiden drilling programme at its 100% owned Panton platinum group metals project in Australia.
This drilling campaign could prove crucial in the company’s development as it provides significant new information on a project that already boasts a sizeable 2.4mln ounce resource base.
“We’re drilling to expand the resource and to take samples for metallurgical work,” explains Justin Tremain, a seasoned mining executive and one of Future Metals NL (ASX:FME, AIM:FME)’s directors.
Recent results have certainly been encouraging, with intercepts of 20.8 metres ((m) at 5.34 grams PGM per tonne and 14.88m at 3.88 grams per tonne among the highlights.
The aim is to completely re-work the old resource numbers, which date back to a time when platinum and palladium prices were at a fraction of where they are now, and when the economic cut-off grade was thought to be around two grams per tonne.
Now, though, it could conceivably be a lot lower, meaning that the current drilling could actually go a long way further towards resource expansion than might otherwise be expected.
The company is targeting both high grade depth extensions and broader shallower zones.
But it’s not just the current campaign that’s bringing upside to the table.
“A lot of historical drilling sits outside of the current resource wireframes,” says Tremain.
In short, there’s a huge amount of upside on offer, achievable quite possibly at a minimal cost.
Not that Future Metals has got any immediate worries on that score,
The company raised A$10mln when it returned to the ASX back in June with Panton centre stage, subsequently taking a second listing on Aim a few months later.
Current cash sits at between A$6mln and A$7mln, which looks plenty enough to move Panton forward to the next stage.
The resource upgrade is likely to grab most of the attention as and when it comes, but it’s equally as important not to lose sight of the ongoing metallurgical work.
Back in the days when Platinum Australia (ASX:PLAA) owned the Panton asset, the metallurgy looked like it might be a significant obstacle.
Now, though, Future Metals is reasonably confident that subsequent work undertaken by Panoramic Resources has allowed for a significant breakthrough on that front. Panoramic deployed a new process that produced concentrate grades that were much higher than the ones achieved in earlier testing.
“We’re looking at repeating that work,” says Tremain. And if it can, and if it can boost the resource base at the same time, Future Metals is going to start turning some pretty powerful heads.
Future Metals NL is capitalised at around A$60mln, but with a larger resource base likely to allow for a move to pre-feasibility work next year, this is clearly a company on the move.
What’s more, when serious minds turn their heads eventually towards development, it’ll be worth noting that Panton sits near to established infrastructure, including a main highway, and that ports are easily accessible.
Western Australia is about as friendly a mining district as you can get, so there’s a lot going in the company’s favour. Watch this space for further drill results and the coming resource upgrade, and then see what happens next!