EV Resources (ASX:EVR) has reported flotation test work on third-party ore has delivered 81.1% antimony recovery and produced a concentrate grading 42.4% antimony.
Independent metallurgical test work on ore from the Chinantla antimony project validates a flotation-led processing route that nearly triples recovery compared to gravity concentration alone.
The results confirm a direct implementation pathway for the company’s Tecomatlán Processing Plant in Mexico.
The company has pivoted from a two-phase development timeline to an integrated flotation upgrade path expected to achieve first production within 10–12 months.
Gravity concentration alone recovered 29.25% of contained antimony, with gravity plus flotation achieving 74.04% recovery. Bulk flotation delivered 81.1% recovery with a concentrate grade of 42.4% antimony.
The flotation circuit demonstrated excellent selectivity, rejecting approximately 88% of silica gangue. Subsequent upgrading test work confirmed the ability to generate concentrate exceeding 62.9% antimony, comfortably above typical smelter specifications.
Managing Director Mike Brown says the results ‘provide confidence’ in the processing model at a time of acute global antimony supply constraint.
“Achieving around 81% antimony recovery and confirming we can produce a commercial-grade concentrate […] from third-party ore using conventional, well-understood flotation technology gives us real confidence in the hub-and-spoke model,” Brown says.
The company expects minimal incremental capital expenditure for the flotation pathway, which would utilise existing flotation cells alongside additional high-efficiency tank cells.
EV Resources has commenced environmental permitting to support flotation circuit implementation. The company’s environmental consultant advises that the permitting pathway requires approximately seven months and runs concurrently with plant refurbishment activities.
The results support the company’s strategy of establishing Tecomatlán as a regional antimony ore processing hub. Chinantla ore is expected to cover at least 50% of plant nameplate capacity.
The planned gravity and upgraded flotation circuit will provide additional processing options for variable ore types and oxidation states from third-party sources.
Write to JC Villarba at Mining.com.au
Images: EV Resources
