TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – South Africa-focused project developer Platinum Group Metals (PTM) has confirmed an important new platinum deposit at its Waterberg joint venture (JV) discovery, in South Africa’s prolific Bushveld Igneous Complex.

The company on Thursday announced that drilling results had returned 52 new platinum intercepts, which expanded the previous resource estimate of ten-million ounces.

The exploration campaign included the drilling of 23 holes in the FH layer, averaging 5.56 m grading 3.8 g/t platinum, palladium and gold (2PGE+Au), comprised of 32% platinum, 64% palladium and 4% gold. A further 29 holes were drilled on the FP layer, averaging 4.73 m in thickness and grading 3.92 g/t 2PGE+Au, comprised of 30% platinum, 66% palladium and 4% gold.

“The thickness and continuity of the F and T layers, combined with the consistent setting, structural contours and metal ratios, all confirm a new important platinum deposit at Waterberg,” PTM CEO Michael Jones said.

Vancouver-based PTM said it was nearing the end of the planned drilling and deposit definition work on the JV property. A total of 111 holes totalling 129 000 m of core with about 350 mineralised layer intercepts and 85 000 assay results were being compiled for a resource update, expected in August.

The Waterberg deposit on the JV property covers about 5.5 km of strike length. The shallowest edge of the deposit thus far is on the T layer at about 140 m from surface, with a current inferred resource of 93-million tonnes grading 3.39 g/t 2PGE+Au, 1.03 g/t platinum, 2.02 g/t palladium and 0.34 g/t gold.

Engineering firm WorleyParsonsTWP, which has extensive mechanised underground mining experience, has been tasked to complete the detailed work for a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) of the Waterberg deposit. The planned August resource update would be used for this work.

PTM said the PEA was on target to be complete by year-end.

PTM holds a 49.9% effective interest in the Waterberg JV with the Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation holding 37% and the balance being owned by a private empowerment company in South Africa.