Legacy Minerals and its joint venture partner Earth AI, a predictive explorer for clean energy metals, have unearthed one of Australia’s largest palladium mineral systems utilising artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

This discovery was made near Wombat, in the Southwestern Slopes region of New South Wales (NSW), within the Lachlan Fold Belt's Fontenoy Project.

It is said to be the first discovery of magmatic nickel, copper, and platinum group elements (PGEs) on Australia's east coast and the first verified greenfield mineral discovery using AI.

Earth AI's approach has revealed extensive mineralisation over a 2km² area, potentially making it the world's largest PGEs prospect.

The Fontenoy Project's potential was first identified by Earth AI in 2022, leading to a joint venture with Legacy Minerals.

Following a discovery hole, Earth AI secured an 80% stake in the project in exchange for committing to A$4.5m ($2.9m) in development work.

The current known mineralised system, with geochemical and geophysical indicators suggesting growth, is undergoing further drilling.

Three additional holes are planned before year-end, aiming to expand the discovery's scale.

Earth AI CEO and founder Roman Teslyuk said: “After years of development, we are incredibly excited to see our AI-powered technology accurately predicting the location of mineral deposits and our drilling program validating those predictions.

“The opportunity at Fontenoy is massive and it is a project that has huge significance, both in providing critical metals needed for the energy transition, as well as from a personal perspective, as a Ukrainian, in providing an alternative source to the market that doesn't fund Russia's war on Ukraine.”

Earth AI's Mineral Targeting Platform (MTP) technology, which uses high-accuracy AI to work in unexplored, data poor, and untapped environments.

Moreover, Earth AI's drilling hardware is designed to streamline site movement and logistics. The technology enables smaller drill holes, comparable to the size of a tennis ball, streamlining logistics and minimising the environmental footprint of exploration activities.

Legacy Minerals CEO and managing director Chris Byrne said: “Legacy Minerals is pleased to see results of the great work completed to date by Earth AI in unpacking the palladium, platinum, gold and nickel potential of the Fontenoy project.

“The latest results strengthen the Earth AI team's confidence in the continuity, scale, and overall potential of this mineralised system.”