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Metallurgical Testwork Delivers 48% to 50% Manganese Concentrates
- Positive results received from initial beneficiation (Heavy Liquid Separation - HLS) provide confidence that a high-grade manganese oxide concentrate can be readily produced from Wandanya using a simple density-based technique.
- Significant manganese upgrades, on average, well above the premium 44% Mn oxide benchmark achieved:
- WD01MG composite upgraded from a raw feed grade of 21.2% Mn to grades between 44% to 4G% Mn (depending on HLS applied SG and size fraction)
- WD02HG composite upgraded from a raw feed grade of 41.5% Mn to grades between 51% to 53% Mn (depending on HLS applied SG and size fraction)
- Overall concentrate grades range between 50% and 48% Mn achieved with 68% to 76% recoveries respectively when combining the moderate and higher-grade composites results.
- Low deleterious elements such as iron, aluminium and phosphorus from the head grade feedstock and upgraded concentrate element analysis results.
- The Wandanya discovery represents a new exploration model on the eastern margin of the Oakover Basin comprising hydrothermal, stratabound manganese and iron. The Company has only drill tested 240m of the 3km W2 target strike and is looking forward to further drilling these high-grade manganese and iron outcrops2C3.
The initial sighter level metallurgical tests provide a positive insight to the beneficiation characteristics of the manganese mineralisation discovered at Wandanya using feed grades similar to those at Woodie Woodie that routinely use DMS as part of its ore processing circuit.
Black Canyon’s Managing Director Brendan Cummins said:
“Completing this early stage metallurgical testwork and generating a high grade, low impurity concentrate, in excess of the premium 44% Mn oxide benchmark, has been a great achievement and start to 2025. The style of high-grade hydrothermal manganese mineralisation we have discovered at Wandanya lends itself to the application of density-based beneficiation techniques with manganese minerals being denser than the less dense dolomite host rocks. The testwork confirmed our expectation that the mineralisation would beneficiate in a similar manner to the hydrothermal ores processed at Woodie Woodie and demonstrates the potential to produce a high quality manganese concentrate for the silico and ferro alloying industry and as feedstock for high purity manganese sulphate (HPMSM).”
“We continue to learn more about the W2 manganese prospect with these additional layers of analysis and we are quickly building a greater understanding of the prospect’s potential. My main conclusion to date has been the simplicity of the geology, with shallow high-grade mineralisation and now we have demonstrated how readily the manganese can be upgraded using a simple and established density-based process. Our immediate focus is to complete a Heritage Survey and then further drilling down dip and along strike so we can understand the full scale and significance of the discovery.”
“We have only drill tested 240m of strike or less than 10% of the 3km long manganese target based on mapping and rock chip sampling2. This is why we are very keen, following the west season, to get the rig back to site as soon as possible and test not only the manganese targets but also the recently announced high-grade iron mineralisation we have mapped over 2km adjacent to the manganse3.”
Figure 1. W2 Prospect, RC drill bags from WDRC031 in the foreground
W2 Prospect, Wandanya (BCA 100%)
Heavy Liquid Separation Testwork
Testwork samples were selected from about 110kg of RC drill chip samples collected from the W2 drilling program completed in September 20241. Whilst diamond core would be preferable to RC drill chips, for this early-stage sighter level beneficiation testwork, the processing of RC chips does provide initial concentrate grade and recovery data that can be applied to more detailed diamond core based testwork when available.
To facilitate representative examples of mineralisation, the drill chip samples were collected from six holes, with two holes each from a northern, central and southern drill line along 240m of drilled strike. A moderate and high composite grade of 20% Mn and 40% Mn was targeted based on the average intersection around 30% Mn with reasonably distinct moderate grades in an upper zone and higher grades closer to the footwall. The mineralised intervals were all intersected from less than 10m depth. All the samples were crushed to -10mm and then combined as required to produce a moderate (WD01MG) and higher (WD02HG) grade composite.
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Geological Mapping and Further Rock Chip Results Enhance Red Mountain Lithium Project, USA
Key Highlights
- Detailed geological mapping completed by consulting expert Professor Phillip Gans of the University of California Santa Barbara.
- Mapping identifies two priority clay-rich and lithium- hosting rock units at Red Mountain.
- Additional rock-chip sampling within ‘Unit J’ identifies a broad zone of mineralisation grading up to 2,100ppm Li.
- Mapped as the most clay-rich rock type. ‘Unit J’ has only been tested by one drill hole, indicating excellent upside.
- Continuous ‘Unit O’ trending approximately north-south through project will underpin the upcoming Exploration Target.
Unit J is a claystone and siltstone dominated rock type located in the west of the Red Mountain Project area which was identified as part of detailed geological mapping undertaken by consultant geologist Professor Phillip Gans of the University of California Santa Barbara. Professor Gans identified Unit J as the most clay-rich rock unit at the Project and recommended a targeted sampling campaign to establish the presence of lithium mineralisation. Subsequently a total of 38 sub-crop and outcrop samples were taken over an area of 800 x 500m of Unit J (Figure 1), with excellent assay results returned from 13 samples grading 1,000ppm lithium or greater. The sampling revealed outstanding exploration potential in this previously unsampled part of the project.
The mapping also identified two priority rock units for future drill targeting – Unit O and the previously mentioned Unit J. Unit O (shown in pale green in Figures 1-3) is dominated by silt and sandstone with clay-rich horizons, is interpreted to be continuous over a 7.8km extent across the Project, and has been tested by 12 of the 13 holes drilled to date, each of which has intersected strong lithium mineralisation7.
The continuous nature of Unit O will underpin a maiden Exploration Target for the Project and inform the drill targeting strategy for the first half of 2025, as the Company advances toward a Maiden Mineral Resource Estimate in the second half.
Astute Chairman, Tony Leibowitz, said:
“With the advice of expert independent consultants, we are continuing to systematically progress the Red Mountain Project. The identification of a new high-grade lithium-bearing unit increases the project’s potential, while the enhanced geological understanding allows the calculation of an Exploration Target, as well as contributes to de-risking of the upcoming drilling campaign, paving the way for a maiden Mineral Resource Estimate in the second half of 2025”
Figure 1. Mapped geology and rock chip lithium geochemistry with red box indicating new lithium zone in Unit J.
Background
Located in central-eastern Nevada (Figure 4), adjacent to the Grand Army of the Republic Highway (Route 6), which links the regional mining towns of Ely and Tonopah. the Red Mountain Project was staked by Astute in August 2023.
The Project area has broad mapped tertiary lacustrine (lake) sedimentary rocks known locally as the Horse Camp Formation2. Elsewhere in the state of Nevada, equivalent rocks host large lithium deposits (see Figure 4) such as Lithium Americas’ (NYSE: LAC) 62.1Mt LCE Thacker Pass Project2 and American Lithium (TSX.V: LI) 9.79Mt LCE TLC Lithium Project3.
Astute has completed substantial surface sampling campaigns at Red Mountain, which indicate widespread lithium anomalism in soils and confirmed lithium mineralisation in bedrock with some exceptional grades of up to 4,150ppm Li1,6 (Figures 1 and 3).
A total of 13 RC and diamond drill holes have been drilled at the project for a combined 1,944.72m. Both campaigns were highly successful with strong lithium mineralisation intersected in every hole drilled7.
Scoping leachability testwork on mineralised material from Red Mountain indicates high leachability of lithium of up to 98%, varying with temperature, acid strength and leaching duration8.
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This article includes content from Astute Metals NL, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
