Date: Mar 28, 2019
TORONTO, March 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Sparton Resources Inc. (TSXV.SRI) (“Sparton” or the “Company“) is pleased to announce the test results conducted on their behalf by Central America Nickel Inc. (“CAN”) on the vanadium mineralization hosted in black shale from Jiangxi Province in China, using the CAN’s Ultrasound Assisted Extraction technology (“UAEx”). The material tested was taken from the Quankeng Stone Coal Mining License in the Xiushui area of Jiangxi, which has been under evaluation by the Company for a number of years and is currently in acquisition negotiations. Excellent results were achieved with the testing and additional work is planned on more samples to be supplied by the Company.
TEST PROGRAM
Test work was completed on a 400 gram sample of flotation tailings from the Quankeng licence, with a grade of 1.18% V2O5. The test using UAEx produced recoveries of 85.31% V2O5. The material had been ground to 80%, passing a 200 mesh screen for earlier flotation tests, in order to remove sulphide phases from the mineralized samples taken from a drill program at Quankeng (the program was completed earlier by Sparton subsidiary VanSpar Mining Inc).
DISCUSSION
CAN’s patent-pending technology has proven to be extremely effective at recovering in solution in excess of 90% of scandium, vanadium, nickel, cobalt, copper, iron and other minerals, in less then one hour and without the use of heat or pressure. CAN has tested over 30 different deposits using its ultrasound assisted technology.
While further detailed work is necessary, it is clear that UAEx has the potential to significantly lower vanadium recovery costs by decreasing the leaching time and acid consumption, as well as by producing clean water waste from its application. CAN’s technology has the potential to reduce the number of leached elements, and in the case of vanadium, a much cleaner V2O5 product with fewer trace metals that can be, for example, detrimental to manufacture of vanadium flow battery electrolyte.
COMMENTARY
The next steps will involve the construction of a pilot scale plant by CAN, capable of limited commercial production in Quebec (Canada). If the technical and economic viability of the process can be established at a commercial scale, Sparton believes that the application of UAEx may substantially reduce vanadium production costs and provide more robust economic performance for any vanadium related production project. The management of the Company looks forward to additional positive results from the test work.
