Terra Metals has confirmed a thick titanium–vanadium–gallium (Ti-V-Ga) discovery at the Southwest Prospect within its Dante project, significantly expanding the scale of the emerging critical minerals system.
New drilling results from the SW3 and SW4 targets show the mineralised system extends more than 800m along strike and over 400m in width from surface.
Individual high-grade magnetite reef packages reach up to 60m thick – around 11 times thicker than the basal reef underpinning the existing 148Mt Dante Reefs mineral resource estimate (MRE).
The results build on Terra’s recent high-grade platinum group metal (PGM)–copper–nickel sulfide intercepts at Southwest, including feeder-style mineralisation identified above and below the oxide reefs. The company said this confirms Southwest as a vertically stacked polymetallic system with multiple value drivers.
Gallium enrichment, typically ranging between 40–55ppm Ga₂O₃, has been identified within the thick oxide reefs, adding a potential critical mineral by-product to the titanium and vanadium mineralisation. Gallium is designated as a critical mineral by Australia, the US and the European Union, with global supply currently dominated by China.
Managing director and chief executive officer Thomas Line said the scale and consistency of the mineralisation supports the potential for a deposit larger and thicker than the existing Dante Reefs MRE.
“We have confirmed a very large, thick and laterally continuous titanium–vanadium–gallium system, with high-grade magnetite reef packages up to 60 metres thick extending from surface and remaining open along strike and at depth,” Line said.
Additional Ti-V-Ga intercepts at SW1 and SW5 suggest the broader system could extend across at least 1.8km of strike and 0.8km of width.
Terra said scandium-rich wall rocks and locally elevated copper–nickel–PGM mineralisation further highlight the broader polymetallic potential of the project.
Assays remain pending from previously reported sulfide intervals, providing further near-term exploration upside. With drilling set to recommence and preliminary metallurgical testwork underway, Terra is targeting a maiden MRE for SW3–SW4 in 2026.
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