Key Highlights

  • Hole SWDD133 returned 31.9 metres at 3.96 grams per tonne 3E, which the company describes as project-best grades.
  • A 1.1-metre interval within the hole returned 72.71 grams per tonne 3E from 396.8 metres.
  • More than 35,000 metres of drill samples from Southwest remain to be reported, with four rigs continuing to drill.
  • The maiden Mineral Resource Estimate is scheduled for the first quarter of 2027 and the Scoping Study for mid-2027.

Terra Metals Limited (ASX:TM1) has reported the latest assays from diamond drilling at its Southwest platinum group metals, copper and nickel sulphide discovery, located in the 100 per cent owned Dante Project in the West Musgrave region of Western Australia. The announcement, dated 10 November 2026, says the results are the best grades returned to date at Southwest and points to a stacked system of high-grade reefs.

Results From Hole SWDD133

Hole SWDD133 intersected several zones of mineralisation over 452 metres of drilling. The most significant interval was 67 metres at 2.07 grams per tonne 3E, which combines platinum, palladium and gold, with 0.13 per cent nickel, from 332 metres. Within that zone, 31.9 metres averaged 3.96 grams per tonne 3E, 0.23 per cent nickel and 0.12 per cent copper from 366 metres. A narrower section of 8.9 metres returned 11.85 grams per tonne 3E from 389 metres.

The highest single sample, 1.1 metres at 72.71 grams per tonne 3E, sits within a 4.7-metre section that averaged 17.90 grams per tonne. The company also reports a lower-grade 97.8-metre interval at 1.18 grams per tonne 3E from 225.2 metres, and a 21-metre interval at 1.02 grams per tonne from 520 metres. The company describes these as multiple high-grade reefs exceeding 5 grams per tonne within a larger package.

Geological Model and Interpretation

The company links the high-grade mineralisation to a magmatic nickel-copper-PGM sulphide system, including massive and semi-massive sulphides. Faulting appears to have concentrated metal in parts of the sulphide package, lifting grades locally. The company says the reef system visible at surface in earlier eastern holes continues through the central block and at depth, which it presents as evidence that the discovery is a large mineralised system.

Single-sample grades of this magnitude are unusual and are highly localised. The company's own description of the 1.1-metre interval as a bonanza grade reflects the nature of narrow reef intercepts, and the broader significance depends on how continuous the reefs prove to be between drill holes.

Work Program and Timetable

More than 35,000 metres of drill samples from Southwest are still to be reported, with four rigs operating. The company has said these results, along with metallurgical results expected this quarter, will feed into a maiden Mineral Resource Estimate scheduled for the first quarter of calendar 2027 and a Scoping Study on track for mid-2027. A potential pre-feasibility study is also referred to as a later step, but the company has not set a date for it.

The company reported $57.9 million in cash at 30 September 2026. It states that this balance is intended to fund the maiden resource, the Scoping Study and technical work towards a potential pre-feasibility study. Cash at that level supports the program described, although the cost of later stages will depend on their scope.

Risks and Matters to Monitor

The results are exploration data, and the company has not yet estimated a resource for the Southwest discovery. Assay results from the outstanding holes may differ from those reported so far, and narrow high-grade intervals can vary significantly within short distances. Metallurgical recovery, which determines how much of the metal can be economically extracted, has yet to be reported. Mining, processing and permitting studies will also be required before any development decision.

Platinum group metal and nickel prices are subject to market conditions that can change materially. The company's program timetable is a plan, and the scheduled dates for resource and scoping work could move as the drilling and laboratory work proceeds.

Final Word

Terra Metals' latest hole adds high-grade intervals to a discovery that the company is still defining. The coming weeks will bring metallurgical data and the assays from more than 35,000 metres of samples, which will show whether the reefs continue at similar grades across the central block. The first resource estimate, due in early 2027, will be the first measure of how that grade and tonnage combine into a potential project.