Podium Minerals has confirmed a substantial vertical extension of its Parks Reef PGM deposit in Western Australia, with new drilling revealing strong platinum group metal and copper-gold mineralisation to depths of around 450-500 metres.
- Down-dip mineralisation extended over 200m beyond current resource
- Strong PGM and Cu-Au zones confirmed at 300-500m depth
- Grades and widths comparable to shallower mineralisation
- Metallurgical test work on deeper samples progressing well
- Potential for significant resource growth pending further drilling
Depth Extension Confirms Robust Mineralisation
Podium Minerals Limited (ASX:POD) has pushed the known vertical limits of its flagship Parks Reef platinum group metals (PGM) deposit in Western Australia, with six new diamond drill holes intersecting strong mineralisation between 300 and 450 metres below surface. This represents a significant extension of over 200 metres beyond the current Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE), which is defined only to 250 metres depth.
The standout intercept came from hole PRDD027, which returned 27.7 metres at 2.04 g/t 5E PGM (platinum, palladium, rhodium, iridium and gold) from 411.4 metres downhole, including a higher-grade 1.8-metre interval at 4.34 g/t 5E. Other holes delivered similarly robust results, with widths ranging from 11 to 28 metres and grades consistently above 1 g/t 5E. These deeper intersections maintain the grade and width profiles observed in shallower drilling, underscoring excellent down-dip continuity of the mineralised zones.
Geological Continuity and Resource Implications
The new drilling focused on the Target Starter Mine #1 area, covering approximately 2 kilometres of strike. Five of the six holes confirmed strong PGM Zone mineralisation alongside a copper-gold (Cu-Au) zone, reinforcing the geological robustness of the deposit. Historic holes drilled in 2022 further support mineralisation continuity to around 500 metres depth in multiple locations across the 15-kilometre strike length of Parks Reef.
Podium’s Managing Director Rod Baxter noted the significance of the results, highlighting that the deeper mineralisation aligns with the existing resource model and includes discrete high-grade domains exceeding 2.5 g/t 5E. This suggests potential for selective mining strategies and feed grade optimisation. The deposit remains open at depth, with geophysical data indicating the host geology may extend as deep as 2 kilometres.
Metallurgical Progress and Pending Assays
The deeper drill core is also providing valuable material for Podium’s ongoing metallurgical test work, aimed at validating and optimising concentrator flowsheets for different mineralised zones. This complements earlier metallurgical drilling that confirmed strong, consistent mineralisation at shallower levels. Meanwhile, assay results are awaited from four oxide reverse circulation holes drilled to provide samples for process development in the oxide zone.
While these new results are promising, Podium cautions that the current drilling spacing is insufficient to immediately update the Mineral Resource Estimate. Further infill drilling and detailed modelling will be required to incorporate these deeper intersections into a revised resource, potentially unlocking significant resource growth.
Technical Rigor and Exploration History
The drilling program employed industry-standard HQ3 diamond core techniques, with close to 100% core recovery and comprehensive geological logging. Assays were conducted by Bureau Veritas Minerals in Perth using total assay methods, including fire assay and ICP-MS, ensuring high-quality data. The Parks Reef deposit has a rich exploration history dating back to the late 1960s, with recent work focused on expanding and upgrading the resource.
Podium’s methodical approach and integration of deep drilling results with metallurgical and geological data position the company well to advance Parks Reef towards development. The next steps will be critical in confirming the scale and economic potential of the deposit at depth.
Bottom Line?
Podium’s deeper drilling at Parks Reef confirms strong mineral continuity that could underpin a major resource upgrade, but further infill work is needed to translate these results into an updated resource estimate.
Questions in the middle?
- How will the pending oxide drilling assays impact metallurgical processing strategies?
- What timeline can investors expect for an updated Mineral Resource Estimate incorporating these deeper results?
- Could the high-grade domains at depth enable selective mining to improve project economics?