Canadian explorer SouthernEra Resources announced yesterday that the second phase of its drilling programme at its wholly owned Millennium Platinum Project in South Africa has revealed good quantities of usable material.

The site, located on the Eastern Limb of the Bushveld Igneous Complex in Mphumalanga Province, contains an indicated resource of 30.6 million tons.

Thirteen drill holes have revealed a platinum/palladium ratio of two to one at Millennium, a much higher proportion than is usually found on the Bushveld Complex where 1:1 is the typical ratio.

SouthernEra president and CEO Patrick Evans told Mining Weekly that he was 'pleased with the success of the Millennium Platinum Project'.

'Our initial acquisition cost of about $100,000 has delivered a multi-million ounce resource at grades that are economic elsewhere on the Bushveld Complex.'

'The resource declared as a result of the second-phase drill programme represents a significant increase over the 1,44 million ounces declared from the first-phase drill programme,' he went on.

'This is very encouraging, as we consider the future options for the Millennium Platinum Project.'