Platina Resources committed to creating value by advancing early-stage projects and growing portfolio

Platina Resources Ltd (ASX:PGM) is focused on returning shareholder value by advancing early-stage metals projects through exploration, feasibility, permitting and into development. Following the multi-million sale of its Skaergaard Project in Greenland to Canadian-based Eastern Zinc Corp (CSE:EZNC), the company’s key priorities remain the Blue Moon Zinc-Copper Project in California, USA, Owendale Scandium Project in NSW and Munni Munni Platinum Group Elements (PGE) project in Western Australia. Reviewing opportunities The company has boosted its working capital position with commitments received for a non-brokered private placement to existing and new shareholders to raise $904,000. Managing director Corey Nelson said the funds raised from the placement would be applied to advancing its assets in Western Australia. He said: “Platina is also planning to expand its portfolio of gold projects and is reviewing a number of new opportunities in Australia.” The Challa Gold Project lies in-between the prolific Mt Magnet and Sandstone gold district. Platina recently added a new project to its portfolio after entering into a conditional agreement to acquire the Challa Gold Project in June, which sits between the prolific Mt Magnet and Sandstone gold districts in Western Australia. The project, which includes two high-quality exploration licence applications covering 293 square kilometres lies within an area defined by more than 50 gold occurrences on a previously unrecognised gold trend called Paynesville Gold Trend. Paynesville intersects and interacts with the Challa Shear - a classic Yilgarn Craton structural setting for plus million-ounce gold deposits. RAB drilling to begin Nelson said although the tenements had not been subject to any recent or modern exploration activities, all that was about to change once the tenements had been granted. He said initial field activities would include a low-cost rotary air blast (RAB) drilling program to test primary targets. “A reconnaissance site visit to the northern end of the project area identified outcropping quartz veins that assayed 5.1 and 6.8 g/t gold from the rare basement geology exposed at surface. “This vein trends to the north-west and disappears under thin transported cover.” Owendale Scandium Project Platina’s Owendale Scandium Project, also known as the Platina Scandium Project, has the potential to be Australia’s first scandium producer with a shallow depth allowing open-pit mining, ‘exceptionally’ high scandium grades and appreciable cobalt, platinum and nickel credits. The project is 350 kilometres west of Sydney in central NSW with gold and copper mining operations such as Northparkes, Cadia and Lake Cowal in close proximity. In early May, Platina extended its Memorandum of Understanding with Traxys Europe SA for a further six months to continue assessing scandium product and market development, and potential funding for the scandium project. Traxys is proposing to assist in developing and executing a strategic product, marketing development plan, and sourcing funding in return for receiving long-term exclusive marketing and distribution rights to the scandium products produced from the project. The MOU contemplates continuing to work together to prepare binding documentation, a multi-staged cooperation agreement and a marketing and distribution agreement with a future working capital component. Nelson said the extension of the MOU would provide the parties with more time to work on building relationships while the markets had been disrupted by the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. “Whilst the use of scandium in the aluminium alloy industry is at an early stage, it has demonstrated that scandium produces stronger, more heat tolerant and weldable aluminium products. “The market opportunity is to incorporate these products into transportation applications for electric vehicles and improving fuel efficiency.” Blue Moon project  In February 2020 Platina confirmed ‘significant’ intersections of high-grade zinc, gold and silver mineralisation from the second hole completed at its Blue Moon Zinc-Copper-Gold Project. Diamond drill hole BMZ80 intersected the following zones - 19.58 metres at 8.41% zinc, 0.49% copper, 1.22 g/t gold and 82.75 silver from 398.44 metres and 6.15 metres at 3.60% zinc, 0.19% copper, 1.97 g/t gold and 78.6 g/t silver from 424.54 metres. A third zone of zinc, lead, gold and silver in the same hole from 450 metres included 3.53 metres at 4.27% zinc, 0.37% copper, 2.4% lead, 3.76 g/t gold and 126 g/t silver from 448.9 metres. The company was encouraged by the results and believe they provide greater confidence that the deposit not only contains a significant zinc resource but with intervals containing up to 14.55 g/t gold and 513 g/t of silver, the potential for the production of precious metal by-products.