Terra Metals Confirms Stacked PGM Reefs as Southwest System Tops 1.1km Strike

Southwest drilling confirms stacked high-grade PGM reefs within a large mineralised system

Terra Metals (ASX: TM1) has released new assay results from three drill holes at its Southwest Discovery within the Dante Project, West Musgrave, Western Australia, confirming multiple stacked high-grade platinum group metal (PGM) reef layers within a large mineralised system. The standout result comes from SWRD054, which returned 14m @ 3.13g/t 3E (the sum of platinum, palladium, and gold) from 411m, including 5m @ 5.45g/t 3E from 413m, alongside a broad interval of 79.8m @ 1.30g/t 3E from 302m.

The Southwest system now extends over more than 1.1km of strike, approximately 700m in width, and at least 750m down-dip from surface, remaining open in multiple directions. With scale now established, the focus is shifting to grade definition within the mineralised package, a key maturation signal for investors tracking the project’s development.

Drill results hole by hole — what the ground is showing

SWRD054 — standout grades define high-grade reef architecture

SWRD054 delivered the most significant results in this release. All intercepts below are reported as downhole lengths; true widths have not yet been established.

• 210.05m @ 0.83g/t 3E, 0.16% Ni from 189m (broad system width)
• 79.8m @ 1.30g/t 3E, 0.21% Ni, 0.13% Cu from 302m
• 20.7m @ 2.32g/t 3E from 409.3m, including 14m @ 3.13g/t 3E, 0.18% Ni, 0.18% Cu from 411m and 5m @ 5.45g/t 3E, 0.28% Ni, 0.24% Cu from 413m
• 1.3m @ 18.62g/t 3E from 558.8m (exceptional high-grade reef hit at depth)

SWRD056 — repeated wide high-grade zones confirm corridor continuity

SWRD056 demonstrated the substantial thickness and continuity of mineralisation through the Southwest Main Sulfide Corridor. All intercepts are downhole lengths.

Earlier drilling confirmed a continuous PGM sulfide system running through the Southwest area, establishing that mineralisation was not isolated to a single corridor but extended across significant strike and width.

• 210m @ 0.97g/t 3E, 0.16% Ni, 0.10% Cu from 171m
• 44m @ 1.41g/t 3E, 0.19% Ni, 0.12% Cu from 174m
• 42m @ 1.37g/t 3E, 0.21% Ni, 0.15% Cu from 298m
• 2m @ 2.35g/t 3E from 616m (mineralisation continuing at depth)

SWDD019 — multiple reef horizons confirmed through the mafic-ultramafic package

SWDD019 intersected broad PGM-copper-nickel mineralisation across significant downhole widths, with higher-grade reefs recurring at multiple horizons. All intercepts are downhole lengths.

• 124.2m @ 0.59g/t 3E, 0.10% Ni from 245.8m
• 11m @ 1.29g/t 3E, 0.17% Ni, 0.14% Cu from 312m
• 9.5m @ 1.42g/t 3E from 357m
• 17m @ 1.22g/t 3E, 0.16% Ni, 0.18% Cu from 428m

Thomas Line, CEO & Managing Director

“Southwest is now moving into a different phase of definition. We have already demonstrated a very large mineralised system; the focus is increasingly on defining the higher-grade reef layers within that system, which we see may provide an attractive opportunity for an open-pit development from surface, subject to the maiden Mineral Resource Estimate and subsequent technical studies.”

What are platinum group metals and why does grade definition matter?

Platinum group metals (PGMs) are a family of six related elements. Terra’s 3E metric combines platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), and gold (Au) into a single grade measure. PGMs are strategically valuable across several industries: palladium and platinum are critical in catalytic converters for vehicle emissions control, both metals are increasingly relevant to the hydrogen economy, and platinum is widely used in electronics and medical devices.

Within a large mineralised system like Southwest, not all material carries the same economic value. Higher-grade “reef layers” sit within a broader lower-grade envelope. Identifying where those reef layers occur, how thick they are, and how continuous they run is what grade definition work achieves. That distinction matters because higher-grade domains can support different mining and processing strategies.

The CEO’s reference to open-pit optionality is also meaningful. Open-pit mining, which involves low-strip, mechanised bulk extraction from surface, is generally a lower-cost development pathway than underground mining. The Southwest system’s multi-metal profile — PGMs alongside nickel, copper, and cobalt — adds potential revenue diversification across multiple commodity streams. These observations are noted subject to the planned maiden Mineral Resource Estimate and subsequent technical studies.

From discovery to resource — the pathway ahead

The announcement identifies six near-term catalysts progressing Southwest toward its next major definition milestone:

1. Additional assay results from completed resource-definition drilling
2. Drill testing of multiple extensional targets in the expanded Southwest area
3. Further definition of higher-grade domains within the mineralised system
4. Metallurgical and mineralogical testwork, with flotation trials already underway assessing options from a bulk concentrate through to separate copper, nickel, and precious metal concentrates
5. Continued geological and resource modelling, incorporating oriented core, structural measurements, downhole televiewer, and geophysical data
6. Planned maiden Southwest Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE), the next major definition milestone

The planned maiden MRE will provide the first formal estimate of mineralised tonnage and grade at Southwest and, importantly, begin to quantify the distribution of different grade domains across the system. Southwest is a separate PGM-Au-Cu-Ni-Co sulfide discovery located outside Terra’s existing 148Mt Dante Reefs Mineral Resource, and represents the company’s principal current resource-definition and development focus.

The company’s project progression framework follows a logical sequence: defining grade distribution and continuity leads to assessing potential mining methods, which informs metallurgical evaluation, which in turn shapes processing strategy and, ultimately, development options. Each step builds on the last, with the MRE providing the foundation for subsequent technical studies. The pathway from current drilling through to development assessment is contingent on study outcomes at each stage.

Investors exploring the capital structure behind Southwest’s accelerating drill program will find our full coverage of Terra Metals’ $85 million institutional raise details the strategic rationale, investor composition, and use-of-funds breakdown that underpins the current resource-definition campaign.

Ready to Explore Terra Metals’ High-Grade PGM Discovery at Southwest?

The Southwest Discovery at Terra Metals’ Dante Project is rapidly maturing, with stacked high-grade PGM reef layers now confirmed across a system extending more than 1.1km of strike and remaining open in multiple directions. With a maiden Mineral Resource Estimate on the horizon and six near-term catalysts in progress, the project’s grade definition phase is accelerating toward a critical development milestone.

To understand the full scale of the Southwest opportunity, including the institutional funding underpinning the current drill programme, explore Discovery Alert’s complete coverage of Terra Metals (ASX: TM1) and track the company’s progress toward its maiden MRE.