Future Metals NL (ASX:FME, AIM:FME) has received wide, shallow platinum-group-metal (PGM) assays from resource definition drilling at its wholly-owned Panton Nickel-PGM Project in northern Western Australia, adding more evidence to support the deposit’s bulk tonnage potential.
Assay results have been received from three of 52 holes, consisting of 19 new holes drilled by FME and 22 historic drill holes that were previously untested.
Once received, assay results from all 52 holes will support the modelling of a new bulk-tonnage, shallow JORC mineral resource estimate (MRE) for Panton. Assays of note from this first batch include:
- 18.27 metres at 1.95g/t palladium equivalent (PdEq) (1.58 g/t platinum, palladium, gold (PGM3E) and 0.20% nickel) from 74 metres (PS394);
- 16 metres at 1.56g/t PdEq (1.17 g/t PGM3E & 0.19% nickel) from 23 metres (PS395);
- 2.6 metres at 2.80g/t PdEq (2.46 g/t PGM3E & 0.23% nickel) from 8 metres (PS393);
- 19.2 metres at 1.50g/t PdEq (1.09 g/t PGM3E & 0.19% nickel) from 34 metres (PS393); and
- 30 metres at 1.19g/t PdEq (0.72 g/t PGM3E & 0.21% nickel) from 89 metres (PS393).
Results demonstrate growth potential
“The results from these latest drill holes confirm the potential for substantially greater widths of shallow PGM mineralisation than modelled in the current MRE and demonstrate the growth potential of the 100% owned Panton PGM deposit,” FME CEO Jardee Kininmonth said.
“We look forward to reporting further drill results regularly over the next two to three months as assays are received for the remaining 49 drill holes.”
Panton currently holds a JORC MRE of 14.32 million tonnes at 4.89g/t PGM (including metal equivalents consisting of gold, nickel, copper, and cobalt or 6E credits) and 0.31g/t gold for 2.4 million ounces of contained PGM and gold.
Metallurgical test work is already underway on both high-grade and low-grade representative composite samples taken from previously reported metallurgic holes.
The company remains in a strong position to pursue its resource definition goals, having cash in bank of $5.6 million as of December 31, 2021.
About Future Metals
Future Metals is an Australian-based exploration company focused on advancing its Panton PGM Project in the eastern Kimberly region of Western Australia.
The 100% owned Panton PGM project is located 60 kilometres north of the town of Halls Creek in the east Kimberly region of Western Australia, a tier one mining jurisdiction.
The project is located on three granted mining licences and situated just 1 kilometre off the Great North Highway, which accesses the Port of Wyndham.
The Panton mineralisation occurs within a layered, differentiated mafic-ultramafic intrusion referred to as the Panton intrusive which is a 10-kilometre-long and 3-kilometre-wide, south-west plunging synclinal intrusion.
PGM mineralisation is hosted within two stratiform chromite reefs, the Top and Middle reefs, within the ultramafic sequence.