Aim-listed Sylvania Platinum has announced the completion of a mineral resource estimate (MRE) update for its Volspruit project, located on the Northern Limb of the Bushveld Complex in South Africa, facilitated by South African geological company Earthlab Technical Division.

CEO Jaco Prinsloo says the exploration results align with the company’s strategic goals, emphasising the importance of exploration assets as a key driver for Sylvania’s growth strategy.

The results include revised MREs for the Volspruit North and Volspruit South orebodies, including for rhodium and ruthenium, both of which had previously not been assayed. The MRE is in line with the Joint Ore Reserves Committee standard as a whole.

Results from Volspruit North include 16.42-million tonnes at a platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold (4E) grade of 2.52 g/t; 1.33-million 4E ounces at a grade of 2.52 g/t; 21.94-million pounds of copper at a grade of 0.07%; and 61.50-million pounds of nickel at a grade of 0.18%.

The MRE represents a 10% increase in the indicated tonnage from the previously reported MRE (October 2022) resulting from a more defined geological modelling exercise that has also resulted in the 4E grade improving by 4%.

Moreover, the addition of rhodium estimates has improved the overall grade by about 7%.

At Volspruit South, results include 10.60-million tonnes at a 4E grade of 2.11 g/t; 14.83-million pounds of copper at a grade of 0.06%; and 46.96-million pounds of nickel at a grade of 0.20%.

This MRE is the first one completed since the mineralised zones have been redefined and, as expected, it reports about a third of the tonnages at almost double the grades previously reported by Integrated Geological Solutions in 2012.

“The updated geological model reveals a notable 10% increase in the Volspruit North MRE compared to the October 2022 publication, accompanied by improved overall grades. These enhancements result from a more constrained geological model based on interpreted mineralised zones.

“Our commitment to meeting investment and workstream requirements for existing mining rights remains steadfast, with specialist teams actively working on authorisations, including the water use licence, environmental impact assessment update, and finalisation of the amended social and labour plan,” Prinsloo outlines.

He says the previously declared measured resources for Volspruit North were downgraded to the indicated category as a result of the short-range variability between closely spaced boreholes being highlighted during the reef redefining exercise.

“This serves to demonstrate that while our understanding of the resource is improving, we are also able to identify where future efforts will need to be focussed. Resources for Volspruit South are currently categorised as inferred due to structural complexity and sparse drilling data,” Prinsloo explains.

“In conclusion, the updated MRE demonstrates the positive impact of our optimisation efforts at the Volspruit project.

“We are optimistic about the future value these results will bring to our stakeholders and are committed to further exploration activities in full year 2024 to unlock additional value from our existing mining rights. We anticipate sharing further updates in the near future,” Prinsloo highlights.

Sylvania has embarked on a preliminary economic assessment of the Volspruit project to assess what value the addition of the Volspruit South resources, and the rhodium and ruthenium resources, might add to the overall project.

Metallurgical test work is being undertaken on fresh core that was drilled during the course of the 2023 calendar year.

Based on the results of the scoping study and metallurgical test work that is expected during fourth-quarter, full-year 2024, a decision will be made on progressing the project to a prefeasibility study phase during full-year 2025.