Terra takes Southwest sulphide system to surface
Terra Metals has hit 157m of mineralisation from just 5m downhole at its Southwest discovery, showing the platinum-group metal (PGM) sulphide system runs almost to surface at the Dante project in Western Australia’s West Musgrave region.
It is the widest intercept from the Southwest Main Zone so far, grading 0.73 grams per tonne (g/t) platinum, palladium and gold (PGE3) with 0.16 per cent nickel, and carrying 50m at 1.27g/t PGE3 from 74m and a 3m slice at 5.05g/t PGE3, 0.62 per cent nickel and 0.27 per cent copper.
“These latest results confirm that a large mafic-ultramafic reef within the Southwest Main Zone is continuous along strike and down-dip, while also demonstrating exceptional thickness compared with most globally recognised PGM reef systems,” Terra Metals chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director Thomas Line said.
“PGM reefs are commonly associated with narrow mineralised horizons, typically ranging from approximately 10 centimetres to 2 metres thick; however, exceptions include Platreef in South Africa and the emerging Southwest Discovery in Western Australia.”
Two more holes on the same section found the same thing. One cut 150m at 0.86g/t PGE3, 0.15 per cent nickel and 0.10 per cent copper from 54m, the other a pair of reefs, the deeper one 80m at 1.08g/t PGE3 from 180m.
“The identification of higher-grade internal reef horizons, which compare favourably in grade and thickness with globally significant PGM reefs such as the Merensky Reef and UG2, reinforces the significant potential of Southwest,” Line said.
The Merensky Reef and UG2 sit in South Africa’s Bushveld Complex, the source of most of the world’s mined platinum.
The Main Zone now stretches more than 950m along strike, about 700m across and at least 750m down-dip, and drilling has yet to close it off in any direction. Mineralisation from a few metres down also puts a low-strip starter pit on the table.
Southwest sits outside Terra’s 148-million-tonne Dante resource, in the Jameson Layered Intrusion, an 80km-long igneous body the company owns outright in WA’s far east, near the Northern Territory and South Australian borders.
Diamond tails down to 918m are still at the lab and will give the first look at the system at depth. A maiden Southwest resource is pencilled in for late 2026, with a pre-feasibility study to follow.
“Five drill rigs remain active at Southwest, and drilling is several months ahead of the assay results reported to market.”