Midas strikes platinum, palladium, gold and copper at Challa Project, WA

Industrial and precious metals explorer Midas Minerals (ASX: MM1) has uncovered a likely find of platinum and palladium (PGE) deposits at its Challa Project near Mt Magnet, Western Australia.

Stretching across a combined 38km area, each of the two zones extend at least 18km, as discovered during Midas’ third round of testing of 3,000 geochemical samples. In addition to the significant finds of palladium and platinum, sampling also suggests the presence of substantial deposits of gold and copper.

The latest testing follows on from a more limited study conducted in 2021, which found:

• Up to 3.45 grams per tonne of PGE from the southern target zone

• A copper-silver rock chip containing 16.1% copper, 566 grams per tonne of silver, 0.4grams per tonne of gold, and 0.13 grams per tonne of PGE

 Background

Historical exploration of the area conducted in the 1980s found traces of platinum, palladium and rhodium in the large Windimurra Igneous Complex, located about 100km southeast of the Mt Magnet township.

Based on these encouraging early results, Midas secured an option over the 48 square kilometre Barracuda PGE-nickel-copper project in 2022, to enable detailed exploration of the Wondinong PGE target zone.

“Our patience in waiting to complete extensive geochemical sampling prior to commencing drilling at our Challa Project appears to be bearing fruit,” said Midas managing director Mark Calderwood.

Given the “excellent drill targets” identified in the areas with the greatest concentrations of PGE, copper, and gold mineralisation, he indicated a drilling program should begin in the second half of 2023.

First significant finds in Windimurra Complex

The Midas sampling – using auger and soil geochemical sampling – has uncovered the first ever high quality data from the area. Most samples were taken from in situ partly weathered bedrock or from soil samples in areas that are predominantly below the ground surface.

What’s next?

The next steps for Midas include:

• plan drill targets through further evaluation of the entire dataset,

• undertaking “ground truthing” – gathering empirical data to support analysis – of the strongest geochemical anomalies and

• cross-referencing with electromagnetic conductors derived from high-quality geophysical analysis.

These latest sample results follow on from testing of 609 samples collected from Challa in October, which returned peak results of 183 parts per billion of palladium and 54 parts per billion of platinum

Disclaimer: Market Index helps small-cap ASX-listed companies connect with Australian investors through clear and concise articles on key developments. Midas Minerals was a client at the time of publishing. All coverage contains factual information only and should not be interpreted as an opinion or financial advice.