Hawsons Iron (ASX:HIO) has completed metallurgical testing to assess dry grinding performance in Australia and Germany with vertical roller mills (VRM) to generate samples for further magnetic separation testing.
Samples have undergone downstream processing, dry magnetic separation testworking from several vendors to identify future testwork programs.
Testwork programs will be used to inform a Feasibility Study this year, with testwork conducted by vendors such as Longi, Steinert, Eriez, and DryFlow.
Previous VRM tests by Loesche and Gebr Pfeiffer confirmed magnetic mass recoveries of 17% to 27% of between 44% to 52% iron are achievable through dry magnetic separation with magnetite losses less than 3%.
Hawsons says testwork results identified negligible variability across vendors, validating test outcomes.
Managing Director Tom Revy says testing will assist characterisation of the company’s ore properties and configurement of the small-scale testing facilities.
“It also builds upon the results announced on 23 January 2026 and adds further confidence in the use of (VRM) dry grinding for Hawson’s unique ore properties,” Revy says.
“The successful completion of this testwork represents a key milestone in advancing the project’s process design.
“The results validate the processing parameters adopted in the Prefeasibility Study and provide strong support for progressing to large-scale pilot testing as part of the Feasibility Study scheduled to commence in 2026.”
Hawsons Iron is focused on advancing green steel production to meet the International Finance Corporation Performance Standards.
Write to Maddison Elliott at Mining.com.au
Images: Hawsons Iron
