Everest Metals (ASX:EMC) has produced its first rubidium product, achieving up to 91% rubidium recovery from the Mt Edon Critical Mineral Project in Western Australia.
Under a 12-month research agreement with Edith Cowan University, which was signed in February 2024, Everest has been conducting studies in relation to extracting rubidium from Mt Edon.
The first stage involved a small-scale laboratory demonstration of the recovery process, using direct rubidium extraction technology.
During phase two, two critical processes were examined — refinement and conversion. Everest notes this phase represented a core experimental work of the project, focusing on process optimisation through systematic investigation of critical parameters.
Based on the results achieved during phase two, Everest, which has a market capitalisation of $30.21 million, plans to conduct an engineering Scoping Study focusing on the capital expenditure and operational expenditure of Mt Edon.
The Scoping Study is expected to be completed in Q2 2025.
Meanwhile, the company will also conduct high-pressure acid leaching for rubidium extracting, and a purification process.
CEO Mark Caruso says the ongoing research efforts are focused on evaluating various production processes to determine optimal rubidium recovery and purity outcomes.
“The consistent repeatability of conversion under a variety of test conditions demonstrates the strength of our key design parameters, reinforcing our confidence that we will be able to produce high-value rubidium components from Mt Edon material,” Caruso says.
Everest is also investigating grant funding options as rubidium is considered a critical mineral used in high-technology applications including defence, military, aerospace, and communications.
Mt Edon is located 5km southwest of Paynes Find in the Midwest region of Western Australia. The project has an inferred resource of 3.6 million tonnes @ 0.22% rubidium oxide and 0.07% lithium oxide containing more than 7,900 tonnes of rubidium oxide.
Everest Metals is a Western Australian resources company focused on discovering gold, silver, base metals, and critical minerals in tier one jurisdictions.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Everest Metals
