Muckanippie Drilling Yields Up to 39.7% Heavy Minerals in Maiden Program

Strong Titanium Discovery at Muckanippie

Petratherm Limited (ASX: PTR) has delivered a robust update on its Muckanippie Project in South Australia, revealing significant progress in its exploration of titanium-rich heavy mineral sands (HMS). The December 2024 quarter saw the company confirm high-grade titanium mineralisation at the Rosewood Prospect, with initial drilling and mineralogical testing producing highly encouraging results.

Composite samples from historical drill holes spanning 2.5 kilometres returned heavy mineral concentrations exceeding 12%, with titanium dioxide (TiO2) content around 65%, indicating a substantial presence of valuable titanium minerals such as rutile, anatase, and pseudorutile. This mineral assemblage is critical given titanium’s designation as a strategic mineral by multiple governments due to its applications in electric vehicles, battery storage, and advanced alloys.

Maiden Drilling Confirms Bonanza Grades

The company’s maiden drilling program at Rosewood, completed ahead of schedule, comprised 100 vertical air-core holes over 3,392 metres. Early assay results from five step-out drill holes along a 2-kilometre trend revealed bonanza-grade heavy mineral intercepts, including standout intervals such as 22 metres at 19.1% HM and 4 metres at 39.7% HM. These results demonstrate both grade continuity and significant thickness, reinforcing the prospect’s potential scale.

Mineralogical analyses conducted post-quarter further validated the quality of the titanium ores, with 10 of 12 samples showing over 97.9% valuable heavy mineral content (VHM) and no deleterious minerals detected. The Main Zone alone averaged 25.3% rutile product with a TiO2 grade of 93.0%, approaching the purity of natural rutile. This purity is a promising indicator for downstream processing and marketability.

Funding Boost and Next Steps

Backing these technical advances, Petratherm successfully completed a heavily oversubscribed Share Purchase Plan (SPP), raising approximately $4.2 million, well above the original $1 million target. This capital injection provides a solid financial foundation for the company’s planned follow-up exploration and metallurgical test work.

Looking ahead, assay results from an additional 45 drill holes covering an expanded 8 km by 2 km area at Rosewood are anticipated in early February. These will be critical in refining the exploration target and advancing resource estimation efforts. Concurrently, Petratherm plans to initiate metallurgical assessments focusing on heavy mineral recovery and separation techniques to evaluate potential product streams.

Strategic Positioning in Critical Minerals

The Muckanippie Project’s location within the northern Gawler Craton places it in a prolific mineral province, with the company also holding interests in copper-gold projects nearby. The titanium discovery aligns with global trends emphasizing critical minerals essential for clean energy and advanced manufacturing technologies.

CEO Peter Reid highlighted the quarter as "exceptionally strong," underscoring the significance of the high-grade titanium discovery and the strong investor support that underpins ongoing exploration. The company’s methodical approach, combining historical data reanalysis with modern drilling and mineralogical techniques, exemplifies a disciplined pathway to unlocking value.