HIGHLIGHTS
Diagnostic testwork demonstrates scope to produce high grade titanium bearing concentrates at Yarrabubba.
Concentrates containing up to 48.5%1 TiO2 produced from non-magnetic tails streams generated from recent LIMS testwork.
TiO2 head grade in the non-magnetic tails ranges from 20% to 25% across a range of grind sizes, with typically 60% to 80% of the titanium reporting to the +45micron fractions.
Testwork confirms high titanium recoveries (typically greater than 90% of +45micron fractions) using standard gravity separation.
Further work is underway to investigate and optimise the
titanium product generated from the anticipated Yarrabubba flowsheet.
Technology Metals Australia Limited (ASX: TMT) (“Technology Metals” or
the “Company”) is pleased to announce results from diagnostic testwork
completed on the non-magnetic tails streams from the MASFR1 and MASFR2 composites from the Yarrabubba Iron-Vanadium Project
(“Yarrabubba Project”).
This testwork has demonstrated the viability of producing a titanium
product from the tails stream from magnetic concentration of ore from
the Yarrabubba Project, with concentrates generated from the +45micron size fractions containing up to 48.5% TiO2 for MASFR1 and 48.4% TiO2 for MASFR21. Importantly the work demonstrates that high titanium recovery is possible using standard gravity separation, with dense fractions typically recovering in excess of 90%2 of the +45micron TiO2 for a total TiO2 recovery between 54% and 72% from the non-magnetic tails.
The testwork is preliminary and unoptimised, with further work underway to replicate the anticipated Yarrabubba flowsheet, with the expectation that this optimised testwork will further enhance the titanium product.
Managing Director Ian Prentice commented: “This early testwork has confirmed the potential to produce a high grade titanium product from the tails at Yarrabubba, providing scope to generate an additional significant revenue stream and maximise the economic benefit of every ore tonne mined at Yarrabubba. The separation of the majority of the titanium from the iron – vanadium product is a key differentiator of the Yarrabubba orebody and is a significant contributing factor to the ability to generate the premium Yarrabubba High Grade Iron – Vanadium.
The Yarrabubba Iron-Vanadium Project, a satellite project to the globally significant Gabanintha Vanadium Project (“GVP”), is located on granted Mining Lease M51/884 and hosts an Indicated and Inferred mineral resource estimate (“MRE”) of 27.7Mt at 38.7% Fe, 0.9% V2O5, and 9.9% TiO2. The high grade massive magnetite unit contained within the MRE consists of 14.4Mt at 48.1% Fe, 1.1% V2O5 and 12.4% TiO2.
A program of Low Intensity Magnetic Separation (“LIMS”) testwork completed on seven (7) compositesamples from PQ diamond drill holes confirmed the opportunity to produce a high grade, high purity iron-vanadium concentrate across all of the mineralised units at Yarrabubba, with a weighted average grade of 64.3% Fe, 1.71% V2O5, 6.34% TiO2, 0.42% SiO2 and 0.67% Al2O3 and an overall mass
recovery of 47.6% at a 32 micron grind size. The representative composite samples tested were:
• MASFR1 – Massive, Fresh, Composite 1
• MASFR2 – Massive, Fresh, Composite 2
• HW1FR – Hangingwall Unit 1, Fresh
• HW2FR – Hangingwall Unit 2, Fresh
• HW3FR – Hangingwall Unit 3, Fresh
• FWFR – Footwall Unit, Fresh
• TRANS – Massive Transitional Composite
The LIMS testing across the seven (7) composites showed clear potential to discriminate between vanadiferous iron (V+Fe) phases and titanium (TiO2) containing phases across the range of grind sizes, indicating potential for a titanium product to be generated from the non-magnetic tails stream.
Diagnostic testwork has now been completed on non-magnetic tails streams generated from the MASFR1 and MASFR2 composites at selected grind sizes of P80 710 µm, P80 500 µm, P80 250 µm and P80 125 µm. This work has demonstrated the viability of producing a titanium product from the ore at Yarrabubba. Products were generated with grades up to 48.5% TiO2 for MASFR1 and 48.4% TiO2 for
MASFR2, with an average of 45.9% TiO2.
The non-magnetic tails streams, which based on the LIMS testwork represent about 50% of the overall process plant feed, contained TiO2 head grades ranging from ~20% to 25% .
The tails streams were screened at 45 µm, with the +45 µm fraction subjected to sequential Heavy Liquid Separation (“HLS”) to separate the denser TiO2 bearing phases from the lighter gangue material. The HLS involved the material being separated by placing into a heavy liquid at a SG of 2.8, with floats
being recovered and the sinks fraction stirred to ensure release of entrapped floats. The sinks were then recovered and placed into liquid of the next SG point. This was repeated at SG points of 3.1, 3.4, 3.6 (and 4.05 for P80 710 µm only) to obtain HLS float products until the final SG point, in which the sinks
and the floats were both recovered for assay. All HLS products were washed thoroughly with acetone and dried prior to assay.
This testwork identified that high recovery of titanium is possible using standard gravity separation, with the +3.6/+4.05 fractions containing significantly elevated TiO2 content, recovering +90% of the +45 µm TiO2 for all fractions aside from MASFR2 P80 710 µm (87.9%). The +3.6 / +4.05 sink fractions from the HLS were screened to determine particle sizing, with selected
fractions recombined for assay. This work demonstrated significantly elevated TiO2 in the -106 µm fraction, with up to 48.5% TiO2 from the MASFR1 P80 710 µm +4.05 sink fraction, 47.9% TiO2 from the MASFR1 P80 500 µm +3.6 sink fraction and 48.4% TiO2 from the MASFR2 P80 710 µm +4.05 sink fraction.
Titanium recoveries in to the -106 µm fraction ranged from 54.7% to 76.7%.
The work completed is preliminary and unoptimised, with work ongoing to further investigate the TiO2 product from samples generated by a testwork process that has been designed to replicate the anticipated processing flowsheet for the Yarrabubba deposit. This further testwork is concentrated on the two massive fresh composites, MASFR1 and MASFR2 with 300 kg and 90 kg of each being utilised. Additional work is underway to investigate suitable methods of TiO2 recovery from the -45 µm fraction.
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