Panther Metals (PALM ) has submitted 134kg of crushed serpentinite drill core taken from the Dotted Lake project in Canda for magnesium investigatory test work by Test Design Implement Solutions LLC, one of the approved laboratories for testing of the Extrakt Process Solutions LLC technologies.
Panther is targeting orogenic gold and magmatic intrusive hosted nickel-cobalt- platinum group element and magnesium deposits at Dotted Lake.
The five-hole exploration drill and soil geochemical sampling programme conducted in 2024 confirmed that Dotted Lake hosts multiple styles of mineralisation, including ultramafic-hosted chromium, nickel, platinum group elements and magnesium, with structurally controlled gold, and zinc potential.
The same drilling confirmed the Dotted Lake ultramafic magmatic intrusive to be a magnesium-bearing serpentinised peridotite, also known as a serpentinite.
As part of a series of investigations to evaluate the potential of the Dotted Lake project, Panther is evaluating opportunities to recover magnesium from serpentine and is particularly interested in alternative extraction technologies capable of improving upon conventional leaching recoveries.
The initial phase of work will focus on a high-level assessment of magnesium recovery from serpentine using Extrakt's proprietary extraction technology.
The objective is to generate baseline metal recovery and process performance data that will inform and support the design and optimisation of subsequent test phases.
"The Dotted Lake 2024 drill programme returned exceptional intersections of magnesium-bearing serpentinite, with grades up to 21.7% magnesium across widths of over 200 metres, confirming both the scale and continuity of the ultramafic body and giving us the geological confidence to take the next logical step,” said Darren Hazelwood, Panther’s chief executive.
“Magnesium is an increasingly critical material in the global transition to lightweight alloys and clean energy technologies, and with intersections of this scale and grade, we believe Dotted Lake may have the potential to be a meaningful source of it.”
View from Vox
The historic magnesium intercepts look very useful, and include one 214 metre zone that grades 21.7% magnesium, with additional platinum, palladium, nickel, silver and chromium. That’s the type of result that makes geologists and metallurgists alike sit up and take notice, and it will be interesting to see what the boffins at Extrakt make of it.
A video illustrating the size and morphology of the Dotted Lake ultramafic magmatic intrusive is available to view on the Panther Metals PLC YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/B90KUU6Kk98?si=4WhxNwzU8IKYF0bC