Pilbara Minerals completes metallurgical testwork ahead of Pilgangoora DFS

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Pilbara Minerals (ASX: PLS) announced the completion of Phase 2 metallurgical testwork program on the company’s 100 per cent-owned Pilgangoora lithium-tantalum project in Western Australia.

Pilbara Minerals said the program represented one of the final work streams for the Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) being carried out on the project.

The company said the completion of the metallurgical testwork program moves the DFS into its final review and compilation stage, the results of which are expected to be announced to the market towards the end of this month following review by the Pilbara Minerals Board.

“The scale of the Pilgangoora Resource and Reserve, combined with its distinct location and grade advantages, will underpin a low-cost operation which should be the ‘go-to’ hard-rock lithium project for expanded raw material supply,” Pilbara Minerals managing director Ken Brisden said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“We look forward to demonstrating its potential.”

As well as completing the Phase 2 work, Pilbara Minerals completed a Pilot Plant Program designed to validate the project flowsheet (post-DFS) during the detailed engineering design phase and to generate spodumene concentrate samples for further marketing purposes.

The company also carried out Heavy Liquid Separation (HLS) variability testwork during Phase 2, separate to the DFS, which it said demonstrated the three stages of HMS proposed in the original flowsheet (as outlined in the March PFS) can now be reduced to two stages.

This will result in the elimination of the coarse rejects, and in doing so will improve plant operability and ultimately, with the expectation of further improving mineral recovery, of both lithia and tantalite during the post DFS plant optimisation (and in particular float recovery) process.

Website: www.pilbaraminerals.com.au