Vital Metals Produces High Grade TREO Concentrate at Saskatoon Plant
THE DRILL SERGEANT: Vital Metals (ASX: VML) reported results from the first feed of the dense media separation (DMS) unit at the company’s Saskatoon rare earths extraction facility in Saskatchewan, Canada.
Vital Metals said the results show the DMS plant Sinks achieved comparable grades to those seen in testwork, with 43.7 per cent total rare earth oxide (TREO) achieved from the DMS Cyclone at Saskatoon.
This compares favourably with the 44.6 per cent TREO achieved in laboratory conditions.
The DMS unit also achieved 75.2 per cent recovery in its first run for a single pass, processing approx. 2,300 kilograms of concentrate mined at Vital’s Nechalacho rare earth project (North T zone), sorted onsite and then crushed at the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) facility adjacent to the company’s Saskatoon plant.
With the concentrate grade reaching the target, Vital will make adjustments to the plant before conducting further trials conducted that involve taking the tails (floats) from the first pass and subjecting it to a second scavenging step to try and increase the recovery further, whilst maintaining the combined sinks concentrate grade of greater than 40 per cent TREO.
“Our team has achieved outstanding results from the DMS unit during initial commissioning at Saskatoon and the fact that on the first run we hit the laboratory test grades for total rare earths with 75 per cent recovery with low grade feed material is above expectations,” Vital Metals managing director Geoff Atkins said in the company’s ASX announcement.
“There will be work to do with optimising our process over the coming months but these initial results demonstrate incredible potential.
“It gives us a great level of confidence for future commissioning activities through the remaining process.”
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Email: vital@vitalmetals.com.au