Podium Minerals encounters significant depth extension at Parks Reef

• Substantial Parks Reef deposit depth extension in target starter mine area
• Five holes returned strong PGM zone and copper-gold zone mineralisation at depth
• Vertical depth extended in area one to 450m below surface
• Down-dip continuity of significant PGM mineralisation potential beyond MRE envelope

Podium Minerals (ASX: POD) has identified significant potential to extend the depth of its flagship Parks Reef platinum group metals (PGM) project in Western Australia with impressive new drilling results.

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Assay results from the six diamond holes drilled to target vertical depths of approximately 300 to 450m earlier this year have confirmed the deposit is wide open at depth, with geophysics indicating that the host geology may extend to two km depth.

The deeper diamond holes formed part of Podium’s recent metallurgical and extension drilling programme. The six holes were specifically designed to test the extent of Parks Reef PGM zone mineralisation below the current resource estimate (MRE) boundary and provide deep samples for ongoing metallurgical test work.

The results from these six holes add to the three historic holes, which intersected mineralisation at approximately 500m vertical depth in three locations across the deposit.

In combination, these nine deeper Podium holes provide compelling evidence of the down-dip continuity of Parks Reef to at least 450 metres to 500 metres below surface, well beyond the current MRE depth boundary of 250m.

“We are highly encouraged by the results from the recent deeper drilling at Parks Reef. These six diamond holes provide strong confirmation of PGE mineralisation at 300 to 450m below surface across a substantial 2km strike length within the target starter mine number one area,” Podium MD and CEO Rod Baxter said.

“Importantly, the grade profile and widths of mineralisation returned at these depths are consistent with those defined in our existing near-surface MRE for Parks Reef, which is currently limited to a depth of 250m.”

Mr Baxter said five of the six holes confirm excellent vertical continuity of the PGM Zone at depth, with hole PRDD027 returning a standout intercept of 27.7m at 2.04 g/t 5E PGM, including 1.8m at 4.34 g/t 5E.

“This result compares favourably with our shallower drilling to 250m, which underpins the Parks Reef PGM Zone Inferred MRE of 183M tonnes for 7.6Moz,” Mr Baxter said.

“Significantly, the deeper drilling confirmed the presence of the copper-gold zone alongside and above the PGM Zone, further reinforcing the scale and geological robustness of the Parks Reef system.

“Importantly, these recent deep drilling results are supported by historic deep drilling completed in 2022, which intersected mineralisation at approximately 500m vertical depth across three wide-spaced locations within the 15km strike of Parks Reef. Together, these datasets provide compelling evidence of the strong down-dip continuity of Parks Reef to at least 450 to 500m below surface.”

Mr Baxter told shareholders that in addition to continuity, the identification of discrete high-grade domains exceeding 2.5 g/t 5E at depth is consistent with shallower mineralisation profiles observed within the existing MRE, highlighting the potential for high-value selective mining and feed optimisation.

“We look forward to integrating these results with our existing geological interpretation and modelling, alongside our ongoing metallurgical program.”

POD is steady at 4.4¢. Mkt cap $43.54M.

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