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Battery and critical metals explorer and developer Pan Asia Metals Limited (ASX: PAM) (‘PAM’ or ‘the Company’) is pleased to provide metallurgical test-work results for flotation recovery of lithium mica concentrates using representative sample from the Reung Kiet lithium prospect.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Metallurgical flotation test-work confirms and improves on previous work.
- Material improvement in Li2O grade and recovery for concentrate derived from weathered mineralisation, showing 71% Li2O recovery at 3.11% Li2O grade in surpassing previous results of 63% recovery at 2.80% Li2O from previous work.
- Lithium mica concentrate derived from fresh mineralisation showing 76% Li2O recovery at 3.10% Li2O grade, reaffirming previous test-work results.
- Both fresh and weathered mineralisation are amenable to conventional crushing, grinding and flotation using very similar flowsheets.
- Flotation test-work of products from ‘ore-sorting’ test-work now underway.
- PAM is rapidly advancing the RK Pre-Feasibility Study for Mining Lease Applications.
Pan Asia Metals Managing Director, Paul Lock, said: “The purpose of Nagrom’s test- work was to verify BGRIMM’s results. We are pleased that this program reaffirms and, in some areas, improves upon previous results, which bodes well for the economics of the RK Project. With this confirmatory test-work completed, we can now progress on to post ore sorting test-work and process refinement after which we are confident in achieving further improvements to recoveries and concentrate grades.”
The Reung Kiet Lithium Project (RKLP) is one of PAM’s key assets. RKLP is a hard rock lithium project with lithium hosted in lepidolite/mica rich pegmatites chiefly composed of quartz, albite, lepidolite and muscovite, with minor cassiterite and tantalite as well as other accessory minerals. Previous open pit mining extracting tin from the weathered pegmatites was conducted into the early 1970’s.
PAM’s objective has been to continue drilling with the aim of increasing and upgrading the existing Mineral Resource, which will then be used as part of a Pre-Feasibility Study that will consider various options to determine the technical and economic viability of the project including the LCE production profile as well as associated by-products.
PAM is focusing on lepidolite as a source of lithium as peer group studies indicate that lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide projects using lepidolite as their plant feedstock have the potential to be placed near the bottom of the cost curve. Lepidolite has also been demonstrated to have a lower carbon emission intensity than other lithium sources.
Reung Kiet Prospect (RK)
The RK Prospect was a relatively large open cut tin mine. The old pit is about 500m long and up to 125m wide (see Figure 1).
Mining of the weathered pegmatites extended up to 30m below surface, to the top of hard rock. Pan Asia has identified a prospective zone at least 1km long, reporting an Inferred Mineral Resource estimate as shown in Table 1. Please refer to PAM ASX announcement, “Inaugural Mineral Resource Estimate Reung Kiet Lithium” dated June 28, 2022.
Table 1. RKLP – Reung Kiet Prospect – Inferred Mineral Resource, 28 June, 2022
MineralResourcereported above 0.25% Li2O% cut-off. Appropriate rounding applied.
The Mineral Resource is based upon the first 46 holes drilled at Reung Kiet. Ongoing drilling has seen the completion of an additional 56 holes, which will be included in the Mineral Resource update which aims to increase the Mineral Resource tonnage and upgrade portions of the Mineral Resource from Inferred to Indicated and possibly Measured classification. The Mineral Resource update is currently being prepared by CSA Global and is expected to be reported in August. The pegmatite swarms remain open to the north and south and at depth on many sections especially in the south (see Figure 1).
Figure 1. Reung Kiet Prospect, Phang Nga Province, southern Thailand
Metallurgical Test-work Details
The test-work was conducted by Nagrom on two separate composites comprised of fresh and weathered mineralisation derived from laboratory ‘coarse crush rejects’ (100% <3.35mm) from ½ HQ sized drill core selected from drillholes identified in Figure 1 (orange drill collars).
The fresh composite sample is derived from 278 individual samples from 16 holes. This sample returned a head assay of 0.64% Li2O. The weathered composite sample is derived from 133 individual samples from 11 holes. It returned a head assay of 0.80% Li2O.
The samples were selected to represent mineralisation throughout the deposit and reflect what are considered to be mineable widths in a potential open cut mine. Therefore, the samples contain both internal and external dilution predominantly composed of waste to low-grade siltstone.
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This article includes content from Pan Asia Metals Limited, 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.
PAM:AU
Beneficiation Delivers 4,480ppm Lithium Clay Concentrate at Red Mountain Project, USA
Key Highlights
- Follow-up Falcon C beneficiation testwork completed on diamond drill core samples from the Red Mountain Project.
- Sample upgraded from 3,245ppm to 4,481ppm Lithium.
- Successful removal of 51.8% of dense material and concurrent 38% increase in lithium grade.
- Reinforces the April 2025 results indicating that Red Mountain mineralisation may be upgraded using beneficiation.
- Attrition Scrubbing beneficiation testwork now underway for comparison with the Falcon testwork results.
- Leaching testwork to be undertaken on Falcon and Attrition Scrubbing products to confirm reduced acid consumptions.
Following on from the results announced on 22 April 2025, this second phase of Falcon Beneficiation testwork was designed to concentrate lithium-bearing clay and remove unmineralized gangue (waste) in order to decrease mass and increase lithium grade. In a mineral processing context, a reduction in tonnes and volume processed with an increased head-grade typically results in lower processing costs.
This second Falcon testwork program was conducted by Sepro Laboratories (Sepro) and utilised high- clay drill core samples from hole RMDD002 (which intersected 86.9m @ 1,470ppm Li from 18.3m4). This follow-up test was designed to establish how high-clay material performed using the Falcon method, for comparison with results from the previous test conducted on lower grade mineralisation from Red Mountain.
The latest result indicates a strong ability to upgrade mineralisation, achieving a reduction of sample mass by 51.8% with a concurrent increase in lithium grade of 38% (from 3,245 to 4,481ppm Li), with an overall 66.6% lithium recovery. These results compare favourably with the previous round of testwork, exhibiting both a greater upgrade in lithium and reduction in mass, with a substantial 43% reduction in calcium and carbon (interpreted as calcite removal) expected to result in a significant reduction in acid consumption. The Company has commissioned Attrition Scrubbing testwork – another method of beneficiation – for comparison with the Falcon results. Once complete, sample products from both the Falcon and Attrition Scrubbing tests will be assessed for acid consumption in future leachability tests.
Astute Chairman, Tony Leibowitz, said:“The demonstration of a commercial pathway to a lithium product is the natural complement to the establishment of a Mineral Resource. It is for this reason that Astute has actively advanced workflows for both exploration drilling and metallurgical testing at Red Mountain, in tandem. These positive results, which reinforce the previous results from the project, represent the systematic de-risking of what continues to emerge as an important US- based critical metals project.”
Figure 1. Clay-rich RMDD002 drill-core from 160-165ft (3,280ppm Li) used in Falcon beneficiation testwork.
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 Formation1. 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 (Figure 3) and confirmed lithium mineralisation in bedrock with some exceptional grades of up to 4,150ppm Li1,5.
A total of 19 RC and diamond drill holes have been drilled at the project to date for a combined 3,666m. Exploration drilling has been highly successful, with strong lithium mineralisation intersected in every hole for which assays have been received9.
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 duration, and proof-of- concept beneficiation testwork has indicated the potential to upgrade the Red Mountain mineralisation6,8.
About Beneficiation
The primary purpose of beneficiation is to optimise the value of mineralised material by separating unwanted waste material (gangue) from valuable minerals.
Testwork conducted to date at Red Mountain indicates that clay-hosted lithium mineralisation may be upgraded through beneficiation, which seeks to remove coarser grained material, such as particles of sand, that do not contain appreciable lithium8. Successful beneficiation can result in reduced reagent consumption, reduced plant wear and tear, and a reduced environmental footprint.
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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.
Pursuit Dispatchs 99.5% Lithium Carbonate Samples to Potential Strategic Partners as Feasibility Studies Progress
HIGHLIGHTS
- Final product assays confirm 99.5% lithium carbonate purity, upgraded from pilot output via bench scale processing.
- Certified samples dispatched to multiple potential offtake and strategic partners for qualification.
- Feasibility study progressing for low cost, 5,000tpa operation at Rio Grande Sur.
- Ongoing small batch lithium carbonate production to support offtake qualification while preserving capital discipline in current market conditions.
- Pursuit continues to advance its dual-pronged growth strategy progressing Rio Grande Sur while accelerating the evaluation of strategic gold, silver, and copper acquisitions in Argentina.
Figure 1 – Pursuit’s 99.5% Li₂CO₃ Sample Ready for Dispatch to Potential Offtake Partners
In relation to the dispatch of samples, Pursuit Managing Director & CEO, Aaron Revelle, said:
“Achieving 99.5% lithium carbonate purity is a major technical milestone for Pursuit and a clear demonstration of the capability embedded within our flowsheet, team, and pilot plant infrastructure. It not only validates the compatibility of our process design with Rio Grande Sur brines but also confirms our ability to deliver a consistently high-quality product suited to a wide range of industrial and energy storage applications. Dispatching these samples to potential offtake partners is a critical first step in our commercialisation pathway, enabling product qualification and accelerating engagement with strategic customers in tough market conditions. As we transition into the next phase of development, our focus is firmly on advancing feasibility for our 5,000tpa operation and securing long-term partnerships that will underpin the future production and growth of the Rio Grande Sur Project.”
Initial pilot production at Pursuit’s 250tpa Pilot Plant in Salta successfully produced 15 kilograms of lithium carbonate at 98.9% purity, validating both the compatibility of the Rio Grande Sur brine and the efficiency of the Company’s conventional processing flowsheet. To enhance product quality and simulate potential refinement steps at commercial scale, a portion of this material was further treated at bench scale using fractional crystallisation (FX) and ion exchange (IX) techniques. These post processing steps upgraded the product to 99.5% purity, meeting established benchmarks for technical-grade lithium carbonate.
The final product assays confirm not only the effectiveness of Pursuit’s downstream purification strategy but also the scalability and robustness of its broader flowsheet. This achievement represents a critical milestone on the path to commercial readiness supporting key feasibility assumptions, validating end product quality, and enabling active engagement with prospective offtake partners.
Pursuit is well positioned to undertake additional small-batch production as required to meet partner qualification needs and advance strategic discussions. Furthermore, it demonstrates Pursuit’s capability to produce high-purity lithium carbonate suitable for industrial use, with potential to meet battery-grade specifications through additional refinement.
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This article includes content from Pursuit Minerals, 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.
