Black Range Ablation technology exceeds expectations

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Black Range Minerals (ASX: BLR) is pleased with the progress it is making with the commercialisation of the proprietary Ablation technology.

Black Range holds a 50 per cent interest in the application of Ablation at mineral deposits, globally, through a 50:50 joint venture with Ablation Technologies LLC (Ablation JV).

The JV anticipates Ablation will have a positive effect on the economics of developing not only Black Range’s 100 per cent-owned 90.9 million pound mineral resource Hansen/Taylor Ranch uranium project in the USA, but also many other sandstone-hosted uranium deposits around the world.

The Ablation JV completed initial tests with ore from the October stockpile in western Colorado in a semi-commercial scale Ablation Unit it has been constructing in Casper, Wyoming, which has nominal capacity of 5 tonnes per hour.

 

The 5tph Unit during tests in Casper, Wyoming, USA. Source: Company announcement

 

Black Range said all preliminary analytical test results have indicated greater than 90 per cent (and up to 94.5 per cent) of the uranium in the ore has been separated into the finest size fractions following Ablation.

The company indicated the test suggest recoveries can be further improved, potentially to 97 to 98 per cent, with secondary separation.

“This bodes extremely well for commercial scale Ablation operations,” Black Range Minerals said in its ASX announcement.

“Furthermore, this achievement is even more encouraging because the residence time to achieve these results is considerably less than anticipated.

“Indeed, the Ablation process is taking place so effectively in the 5tph Unit that only one of the three available Ablation modules has been needed to achieve greater than 90 per cent recoveries (the other two Ablation modules are being bypassed).

“This indicates that, as expected, the higher energy of the 5tph Unit (compared to that available in the pilot plant) is dramatically improving the efficiencies of the Ablation process.

“As such it is probable that throughputs in excess of the nominal target of 5 tonnes per hour can be achieved with the ‘5tph Unit’.

“Furthermore it provides the Ablation JV further confidence that it should be possible to commercialise Ablation in the near-term.”

Black Range said the Ablation JV intends continuing to refine the design and operation of the 5tph Unit and undertaking further tests on October ore.

It will also undertake detailed analysis of recoveries and probable metallurgical properties.

Email:
info@blackrangeminerals.com

Website:
www.blackrangeminerals.com