Implats and Transition Metals strike platinum in Ontario

Discovery-focused Transition Metals (TSXV:XTM) says it has intersected “significant” platinum group metals mineralization at its Sunday Lake project in Ontario, a joint venture with the world’s second biggest platinum producer, Impala Platinum (Implats).

Of the six drill holes completed during the fall 2013 drilling program, “four returned intersections containing significant platinum-rich mineralization including hole SL-13-002 which intersected 20.2 meters containing 3.22 g/t combined precious metals,” Transition wrote in a news release on Monday.

The Sunday Lake property is located about 25km west of Panaromic Resources’ Thunder Bay north deposit which is currently under development.

Other drilling highlights:

• Drilling has outlined a mineralized zone/zones containing >1 g/t PGMs up to 20 metres in thickness over a strike length of 800 metres between 150 and 500 metres below surface.
• Results include: 20.2 metres averaging 3.22 g/t PGMs, 0.26% copper (Cu) & 0.11% nickel (Ni) in SL-13-002. Including a higher grade section of 5.37 g/t PGMs, 0.45% Cu & 0.13% Ni over 3.0 metres.
• Semi-massive sulphide veins intersected along the basal contact returned up to 7.82 g/t PGMs, 1.98% Cu & 1.10% Ni over 0.4 metres.
• Footwall mineralization within thermally altered country rock immediately below the intrusion returned 1.7 metres averaging 4.83 g/t PGMs, 0.77% Cu & 0.05% Ni was intersected within a larger 9.7 metres zone grading >1.0 g/t PGMs.
• Mineralization has high Pt:Pd ratios, which are typically >1:1.
• The mineralization is associated with a buried Proterozoic aged mafic to ultramafic intrusive complex interpreted to be at least 3.5 kilometers in diameter. To date, only a small portion of the intrusive complex has been tested by drilling, with all holes that intersected the intrusion encountering elevated platinum group metals.<

Transition Metals is a project-generator, meaning that it focuses exclusively on the discovery stage of mining operations. Through the 50:50 Sunday Lake partnership, Implats provides $1.3 million of exploration funding per year over three years.

Implats can now decide whether to inject more cash into further exploration. The Africa-focused miner has been struggling with production lately due to labour issues in South Africa. A spokesman for Implats said last week that many platinum mines in South Africa “are not making any money,” Times Live reported.