Heavy Minerals (ASX:HVY) has commissioned Mineral Technologies to deliver a maiden mineral resource estimate (MRE) for its 100%-owned Red Hill Garnet Project in Western Australia.
The appointment follows quantitative X-ray diffraction (QXRD) mineralogy results from all 47 heavy mineral composites collected during the 2023 aircore drilling program, which showed garnet was the dominant mineral in every sample.
Garnet accounted for between 53% and 92% of the heavy mineral concentrate across all composites, with 45 samples returning garnet content of between 68% and 92%. Ilmenite ranged from 3% to 14%, while zircon ranged from 0% to 3%.
Red Hill has an exploration target of 90–150 million tonnes at 5.4–4.1% total heavy minerals (THM).
Heavy Minerals expects to receive the MRE within four to five weeks, subject to data review and feedback time frames.
Executive Chairman Adam Schofield says Mineral Technologies brings one of Australia’s most experienced mineral sands resource teams to the project.
He adds that the QRXD results show a “consistently garnet-dominant heavy mineral assemblage” across Red Hill.
“This package of work is the natural next step in converting our exploration target into a JORC-reported mineral resource estimate,” Schofield says.
Separately, he says activities at Heavy Minerals’ other projects continue to move forward.
“FEL3 [front-end engineering design] engineering for the garnet tailings plant is progressing, alongside digital twin modelling of the plant site. Multiple funding discussions for Kanmantoo are continuing, and the FEL3 study is instrumental in progressing these. At Port Gregory, work continues on the back of the completed Prefeasibility Study,” Schofield shares.
Heavy Minerals is an industrial mineral explorer and developer with projects involving garnet, zircon, rutile, and ilmenite, among others.
Write to Paula Fabe at Mining.com.au
Main image: Heavy Minerals
