Podium Minerals Ltd (ASX:POD) has upgraded the mineral resource estimate at its 100 per cent owned Parks Reef PGM project in Western Australia.
The inferred resource for the platinum group metals (PGM) reef now contains six million ounces of 5E PGM, which represents a doubling of contained 5E PGM.
5E PGM refers to platinum + palladium + gold + rhodium + iridium, expressed in grams per tonne.
The updated PGM horizon contains 0.64g/t platinum, 0.52g/t palladium, 0.07g/t Au, 0.05g/t rhodium, and 0.02g/t iridium, including 94kt copper, 127kt nickel and 24kt cobalt.
In addition to the upgrade, Podium has also been able to identify two high-grade zones (greater than two grams per tonne 5E PGM) located consistently within the orebody at mineable widths.
Podium managing director and chief executive officer Sam Rodda said it was deeply satisfying to see the significant upgrade to the company’s mineral resurce estimate.
Rodda continued: “The team has been working diligently for several months on this project and we are pleased with the outcome.
The quantum of the upgrade should come as no surprise to shareholders who have followed our recent drilling results, and is attributable to the remarkable consistency of the Parks Reef orebody.
“The most exciting part of this orebody resource program is the successful definition of the high-grade zones within the total PGM reef width.
“These high-grade zones have mining widths suitable for selective open-cut mining as well as underground stoping methods, these zones will allow our study team to consider options of higher grade mining and processing versus bulk methods to optimise value at Parks Reef.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank our team who have worked on the delivery of this upgrade – we are lucky to have such skilled team members applying their collective experience on a project that continues to break new ground with respect to Australian PGM projects.
“The team is aligned in the effort to develop and progress Parks Reef to become Australia’s first PGM supplier and this MRE upgrade is a significant milestone on that journey.”
PGMs such as platinum, palladium, rhodium, and iridium are well placed to support auto catalysts in existing combustion and hybrid engines, as well as being integral to the growth in green hydrogen (PEM electrolysers use high loadings of PGMs) and fuel cell electric vehicles.
