Terra Metals Ltd (ASX:TM1) has watched its share price leap by close to 200 percent on news it has confirmed the discovery of sulphide reefs hosting copper, gold, platinum grade elements (PGE), vanadium and titanium at its Dante project in Western Australia.
At 14:07 AEST, Terra’s share price was sitting at 9.2 cents, a rise of 196.77 percent since the market opened.
The discovery – based on drilling of 14 holes during a continuing program of exploration at the project – confirms that multiple reefs exist hosting these precious and base metals at the Dante project, measuring 10 metres thick with a higher-grade basal layer of approximately 5 metres.
This would be the first find of its type in Australia, and has parameters notably better than other globally significant reefs – such as those found in the bushveld in South Africa
which average 1-2 metres in thickness.
The multiple Dante Reefs are gently dipping, laterally extensive, and have mineralised layers
which outcrop from surface, running for 42 kilometres, with mineralisation at Reef 1 defined over 3 kilometres, and first assays from Reef 2 confirming another 1.5 kilometres of strike.
Territory is also important, since the project is only 15 kilometres from BHP’s
$1.7 billion Nebo-Babel mine development, holding a resource of 390 million tonnes 0.30 percent copper 0.33 percent nickel and 0.23 grams per tonne PGE3.
First pass drilling at the reefs have picked up intercepts such as 6 metres at 0.40 percent copper, 0.79 grams per tonne PGE3, 0.66 percent vanadium oxide (V2O5), & 19.9 percent titanium dioxide (TiO2) from 4 metres, including 2 metres at 0.62 percent copper, 0.85 grams per tonne PGE3, 0.71 percent V2O5 and 22.3 percent TiO2 from 6 metres.
Managing Director and CEO Thomas Line said the company was elated with the find, and had a busy program ahead to delineate the mineralisation at Dante.
“We are excited to have discovered multiple Platreef-style copper-PGE sulphide reefs from a first pass-reconnaissance drilling program at the Dante Project; the first of its kind in Australia,” he said.
“Our next step is to continue to replicate these results over the extensive strike at the Dante Reefs, ensuring we are well positioned for success.
“It’s clear that there is a concentration and combination of high value metals within the same layers in the Dante Reefs. Chalcocite and bornite appear to be the dominant copper-sulphides.”
He added that Terra could learn much from projects with similar geology in other parts of the world.
“The discovery of similar style reefs in the bushveld areas of South Africa has resulted in some of the world’s largest, longest running and most profitable PGE, copper, nickel, gold, vanadium and titanium mining operations with over 100 years of ongoing production,” Mr Line said.
“The stratiform reefs of the bushveld average 1 to 2 metres in thickness and require complex underground mining operations; however, their centennial mine life exemplifies how successful these types of deposits can be.
“The 120 million tonne Platreef Deposit, which is thicker than the other reefs in the bushveld, sits 600m beneath the surface requiring immense infrastructure including one of the world’s largest hoist-shaft to extract the ore to the surface.
“The Dante Reefs, however, outcrop from surface over more than 40km of strike, with a gentle dip and an average thickness of approximately 10 metres with a higher-grade basal reef layer, and a second, upper reef layer of lower grade but similar thickness.”