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Podium Minerals Ltd (ASX:POD) has released a mineral resource estimate (MRE) for the copper-gold zone found at its Parks Reef project in Western Australia, adding to a resource already defined for the project’s platinum group metals (PGM) zone.
The copper-gold zone – which lies above and is contiguous to the PGM zone – is estimated to comprise 140,000 tonnes (t)of copper, 260,000 ounces of gold, along with 60,000t nickel and 11,000t cobalt.
The existing PGM zone has been estimated as holding 7.6 million ounces (Moz), 5E PGM (a combination of platinum, palladium, gold, rhodium and iridium),103,000t copper (Cu), 143,000t nickel (Ni) and 27,000t cobalt (Co).
The addition of the new zone boosts the podium basket price by 21% to A$3,529 per ounce of 5E PGM, and adds to the scale, optionality and strategic value of Parks Reef, underlining the company’s position as Australia’s premier PGM exposure.
Executive chairman Rod Baxter said the resource definition marked an important achievement for Podium.
“The delineation of the substantial copper and gold mineralisation immediately above the hanging wall of the existing PGM and base metal horizon at Parks Reef is further demonstration of this deposit’s strategic value and ability to continue to surprise to the upside,” he said.
“While geologically separate from the PGM reef, the additional Cu-Au resource substantially
increases the podium basket price by 21% at current spot prices, enhances optionality from a development perspective, and provides another strategic lever for us to consider as we progress the Parks Reef PGM project.”
The company is also continuing Phase 2 flotation work seeking improvements in PGM recovery, with current efforts focused on waste rejection to enhance concentrate grade, aiming to produce a cleaner feed to Podium’s proposed downstream refining circuits.
Podium shares have moved up since this news, and at 11:17 AEST, they were trading at 2.6 cents – a rise of 18.18% since the market opened.
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