High Grade Drill Results returned at Panton

RNS Number : 5527Q

Future Metals NL

28 October 2021

 

28 October 2021

Future Metals NL

 

High Grade Drill Results returned at Panton

 

10.1m @ 9.00g/t PGM (+Au) from 92.5m

7.8m @ 6.46g/t PGM (+Au) from 39.4m

Future Metals NL ("Future Metals" or the "Company", ASX|AIM: FME ) is pleased to announce high-grade results received from an initial five holes of the current ongoing drilling program at its 100% owned Panton PGM Project ("Panton") in northern Western Australia. The results reported are from five of eight metallurgical holes drilled to provide samples for flotation optimisation and variability test work.  Panton has a JORC Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE") of 14.32Mt @ 5.20g/t for 2.4Moz PGM and Gold.

Highlights  

§ Results from the five reported shallow drill holes include (refer Table One and Appendix One for full details and Figures Two and Three) :

o  20.8m @ 5.34g/t PGM (2E+Au) from 89.3m (PS388)

§ including 10.1m @ 9.00g/t PGM(2E+Au) from 92.5m

o  14.8m @ 3.88g/t PGM (2E+Au) from 38.4m (PS384)

§ including 7.8m @ 6.46g/tPGM(2E+Au) from 39.4m

o  11m @ 3.94g/t PGM (2E+Au) from 100m (PS389)

§ including 4.35m @ 5.72g/t PGM(2E+Au) from 103m

o  8m @ 1.98g/t PGM (2E+Au) from 25m (PS382)

§ including 2m @ 4.86g/t PGM(2E +Au) from 25.5m

§ Initial results demonstrate considerably higher PGM grades and widths when compared to historical drilling and resource modelling (please refer to Figures Two and Three).

§ Holes PS382 and PS384, drilled approximately 75 metres up-dip from historical hole PS001 and at shallow depths (<50 metres from surface) returned significantly higher PGM grades (please refer to Figure Two).

§ Results include a significant amount of gold mineralisation with 10m @ 1.22g/t gold from 92.5m encountered in PS388.

§ Approximately 4,550 metres of drilling across 21 holes now completed at Panton with assay results pending for several holes.

§ These initial results also confirm the potential for shallow, bulk mineralisation being tested by the current drilling to assess the prospective footwall zone and the potential for a larger open pit than previously envisaged

§ Drilling planned for the largely untested 'Northern Anomaly' where potential exists for bulk tonnage lower grade mineralisation (please refer to Figure Four)  

Mr Justin Tremain, Non-Executive Director of the Company, commented:

"These initial results from Panton continue to demonstrate the potential of the project with exceptional grades including several plus 10g/t PGM samples. When compared to past drilling, these results exceed expectations and also confirm the potential for shallow mineralisation over broader widths which has not previously been modelled in the current 2.4Moz JORC Mineral Resource Estimate. With several holes still to be assayed, and drilling ongoing with weekly sample dispatches, we look forward to reporting further results in the coming weeks."

As previously reported, the Company commenced a 10,000m diamond core drilling program in August 2021, which is designed to:

§ provide samples for further metallurgical test work;

§ test continuity and depth extensions to the MRE;

§ test the potential for defining a much larger and shallower mineralised zone at lower cut-off grades;

§ test strike extensions to the MRE; and

§ test parallel zones of highly anomalous PGM soil geochemistry

The Company has completed 21 holes for approximately 4,550 metres to date and drilling is expected to continue until December 2021, weather conditions permitting.  

Eight of the 21 holes drilled to date (PS382 - PS389) were designed to recover sufficient mineralised chromitite reef and associated mineralised dunite for metallurgical test work. These eight drill holes have been completed and were successful in recovering suitable material and in the required volumes.

Results have now been received for five of these holes as shown in Table One below (refer to Appendix One for drill hole details) :

Hole ID	From	To	Width	Pd	Pt	Au	PGM(2E) +Au	Ni
PS382	25m	33m	8m	0.95g/t	0.93g/t	0.10g/t	1.98g/t	0.21%
including	25.5m	27.5m	2m	2.38g/t	2.27g/t	0.21g/t	4.86g/t	0.21%
PS384	38.4m	53.2m	14.8m	1.86g/t	1.68g/t	0.33g/t	3.88g/t	0.24%
including	39.4m	47.2m	7.8m	3.17g/t	2.83g/t	0.46g/t	6.46g/t	0.27%
PS387	22m	27m	5m	1.14g/t	1.00g/t	0.18g/t	2.32g/t	0.21%
PS388	89.3m	110.1m	20.8m	2.42g/t	2.30g/t	0.62g/t	5.34g/t	0.40%
including	92.5m	102.6m	10.1m	4.09g/t	3.69g/t	1.22g/t	9.00g/t	0.53%
PS389	100m	111m	11m	1.99g/t	1.73g/t	0.22g/t	3.94g/t	0.29%
including	103m	107.35m	4.35m	3.03g/t	2.47g/t	0.22g/t	5.72g/t	0.32%

Table One | Drilling Assay Results

The metallurgical holes concerned were drilled at three sites, one at each of the A, B and C Blocks of the northern part of the Panton intrusion (please refer to Figure One) . The holes were designed to intersect the target horizons at a low angle to the dip of the upper chromitite reef in order to maximise the volume of sample collected for test work.  Accordingly, the reported widths are not true widths, however as seen in cross sections below, the holes have returned higher grade and widths when compared to historical drilling (please refer to Figures Two and Three) .  

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/5527Q_1-2021-10-28.pdf  

Figure One | Panton Geology Shown A, B, C and D Blocks

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/5527Q_1-2021-10-28.pdf

Figure Two | Panton Section (PS382 and PS384)

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/5527Q_1-2021-10-28.pdf

Figure Three | Panton Section (PS388 and PS389)

A review of historical drilling has shown significant broad zones of platinum (Pt) and palladium (Pd) mineralisation outside of the current wireframes that support the 2.4Moz JORC Mineral Resource estimate. The current MRE interpretation has been constrained to the high grade upper and middle chromitite reefs and has excluded Pt and Pd mineralisation outside of these chromitite reefs within the host dunite rock. Often, no sampling of historical drilling was undertaken outside the chromitite reef and/or drilling did not extend beyond the upper and middle chromite reefs (please refer to Figures Two and Three) . Accordingly, the Company sees potential for bulk shallow tonnage and is currently testing for this with a series of shallow (<150m) drill traverses across the B and C Zones. 

In addition, the Company plans to undertake some shallow drilling at the 'Northern Anomaly' where a large PGM anomaly exists based on mag lag sampling (please refer to Figure Four) . Only limited wide spaced drilling has been undertaken at the Northern Anomaly, which returned shallow, broad widths of lower grade mineralisation.

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/5527Q_1-2021-10-28.pdf

Figure Four | Anomalous PGM in Mag Lag Sampling

This announcement has been approved for release by the Board of Future Metals NL.

For further information, please contact :

Future Metals NL	[phone]
Justin Tremain	[e-mail]
Strand Hanson Limited (Nominated & Financial Adviser)	[phone]
James Harris
W H Ireland Limited (UK Broker) Harry Ansell/Katy Mitchell	[phone]

Competent Person's Statement:

The information in this announcement that relates to Exploration Results is based on, and fairly represents, information compiled by Mr Shane Hibbird, who is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and the Australian Institute of Geoscientists. Mr Hibbird is the Company's Exploration Manager and has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity he is undertaking to qualify as a competent person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the "Australasian Code for reporting of Exploration Results, Exploration Targets, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves" (JORC Code). Mr Hibbird consents to the inclusion in this announcement of the matters based upon his information in the form and context in which it appears.

The information in this announcement which relates to Mineral Resources was stated in the Company's ASX Prospectus dated 18 May 2021. The Company confirms that is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects the information included in the Prospectus relating to Mineral Resources, and that all material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the Mineral Resource Estimate continue to apply and have not materially changed.

The information in this announcement that relates to Metallurgical Results is based on, and fairly represents, information compiled by Dr Evan Kirby, a Competent Person who is a Member of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Dr Kirby is a full-time employee of Metallurgical Management Services (MMS) a specialist metallurgical consultancy and an independent consultant of the Company. Dr Kirby has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity he is undertaking to qualify as a competent person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the "Australasian Code for reporting of Exploration Results, Exploration Targets, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves" (JORC Code). Dr Kirby consents to the inclusion in this announcement of the matters based upon his information in the form and context in which it appears.
 

Notes to Editors:

About Panton PGM Project

The 100% owned Panton PGM project is located 60 kilometres north of the town of Halls Creek in the eastern Kimberly region of Western Australia, a tier one mining jurisdiction. The project is located on three granted mining licences and situated just 1 kilometre off the Great North Highway which accesses the Port of Wyndham (please refer to Figure Five) .
 

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/5527Q_1-2021-10-28.pdf

Figure Five | Panton PGM Project Location

The Panton PGM Project has a JORC Mineral Resource estimate of 14.32Mt @ 4.89g/t PGM, 0.31g/t Au and 0.27% Ni.

The Panton mineralisation occurs within a layered, differentiated mafic-ultramafic intrusion referred to as the Panton intrusive which is a 10km long and 3km wide, south-west plunging synclinal intrusion. PGM mineralisation is hosted within two stratiform chromite reefs, the Top and Middle reefs, within the ultramafic sequence. 

About Platinum Group Metals (PGMs)

PGMs are a group of six precious metals being Platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), iridium (Ir), osmium (Os), rhodium (Rh), and ruthenium (Ru). Exceptionally rare, they have similar physical and chemical properties and tend to occur, in varying proportions, together in the same geological deposit. The usefulness of PGMs is determined by their unique and specific shared chemical and physical properties.

PGMs have many desirable properties and as such have a wide variety of applications. Most notably, they are used as auto-catalysts (pollution control devices for ICE vehicles), but are also used in jewellery, electronics, hydrogen production / purification and in hydrogen fuel cells.  The unique properties of PGMs help convert harmful exhaust pollutant emissions to harmless compounds, improving air quality and thereby enhancing health and wellbeing.

 

Appendix One

Drill Hole Details

Hole ID	Easting	Northing	RL	Depth (m)	Dip	Azi
PS382	377041	8037293	455	95.2	-85	330
PS384	377045	8037288	455	55.9	-87	330
PS387	377657	8037205	458	54.7	-80	359
PS388	375960	8036549	445	110.1	-70	357
PS389	375963	8036527	444	111	-60	350

 

END

 

 

DRLDKFBKABDKPKB