Location and tenure
The Panton PGM Project lies approximately 60 kilometres north of the town of Halls Creek in the east Kimberley of Western Australia, around 1 kilometre off the Great Northern Highway. The highway provides sealed road access direct to the Port of Wyndham.
The Project comprises three granted Mining Leases — M80/103, M80/104 and M80/105 — covering approximately 23 km², held 100% through Panton Sill Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Future Metals NL. The leases were granted in March 1986 and are currently valid until March 2028.
In accordance with the statutory renewal process, the Company has commenced preparations for the next renewal, which includes progressing the required Native Title future act process. The formal renewal application will be lodged approximately 12 months prior to the current expiry date.
The Project lies within the Alice Downs pastoral station and on the traditional lands of the Malarngowem and Gija peoples.
History and ownership
- 1970s and 1980s — Initial drilling tests the mafic-ultramafic complex.
- 1989 — Pancontinental Mining Limited and Degussa Exploration drill a further 32 holes and define a maiden, non-JORC resource.
- 2000 — Platinum Australia Ltd acquires the Project and completes the majority of the drilling undertaken to date, together with a decline for metallurgical sampling. A bulk sample of Upper Reef material is shipped to South Africa for pilot plant test work.
- September 2003 — Platinum Australia completes a Bankable Feasibility Study, at a time of historically low PGM prices. The company’s focus subsequently shifts to the development of PGM projects in South Africa, and it is placed into administration in 2011.
- 2012 — Panton Sill Pty Ltd, then a subsidiary of Panoramic Resources Limited, acquires the Project from the administrator of Platinum Australia. Panoramic completes metallurgical test work on Panton material.
- August 2015 — The Mineral Resource Estimate is updated to comply with the JORC Code (2012).
- June 2021 — Future Metals acquires the Project.
- 2021 to 2023 — The Company completes geological reinterpretation, resource modelling, metallurgical test work and economic assessments, supporting updated Mineral Resource Estimates in 2021 and 2023, the inclusion of a chromite estimate for the first time, and the 2023 Scoping Study.
- July 2026 — The Company reports a further updated Mineral Resource, reported on a platinum equivalent basis and constrained by independent NSR modelling and mine optimisation.
Royalties
The Panton PGM Project is subject to a State royalty and two private royalties.
- A royalty of 5% is payable to the State of Western Australia on an ad valorem basis, applying to both the PGM concentrate and the chromite concentrate.
- A 0.5% net smelter return royalty is payable to Elemental Royalties Australia Pty Ltd in respect of any future production of chrome, cobalt, copper, gold, iridium, palladium, platinum, nickel, rhodium and ruthenium.
- A 2.0% net smelter return royalty is payable to Maverix Metals (Australia) Pty Ltd on any platinum group metals produced from the mining leases.
Panton PGM ProjectCorporate Governance