After achieving 90.5% total rare earth element (TREE) recovery, Indiana Resources (ASX:IDA) is planning to conduct a follow-up hydrometallurgical testwork program at the Minos REE prospect, as part of the Central Gawler Craton Project in South Australia.
Future work will focus on potential attritioning of the coarser fraction to determine if more efficient clay separation is achievable.
The hydrometallurgical program conducted on Minos consisted of wet screening, bulk sighter flotation, thermal roast/water leach and acid sighter leaching conducted by rare earth and rare metal specialist Nagrom.
Indiana Resources, which has a market capitalisation of $59.63 million, says the program was designed to determine the potential for leach recovery from flotation concentrates of the clay-hosted rare earths mineralisation.
Sighter leach testwork completed on a high-grade flotation concentrate achieved a recovery of 90.5% TREE, 87.8% heavy REE, and 90.8% light REE from the minus 0.15mm fraction of a composite aircore sample of clay-hosted REE mineralisation.
Executive Chairman Bronwyn Barnes says the latest results from Minos clearly shows the strong rare earths potential of the project area in South Australia.
“Initial sighter testwork has focused on beneficiation of the clay-hosted REE at Minos and provided outstanding results,” Barnes says.
“High recoveries of both total rare earth oxide (TREO) and magnetic rare earth oxide (MREO) to a 4% TREO flotation concentrate is particularly encouraging. We look forward to the next phase of hydrometallurgical testwork which will focus on acid leaching of the concentrate.
“These results give the company the confidence to continue drilling to better define the size potential of our 6km by 4.5km REE target which remains open in all directions.”
Previously reported drilling results recorded 26m @ 4,767 parts per million (ppm) TREO and 1,894ppm MREO from 46m, including 1m @ 46,721ppm TREO and 22,255ppm MREO from 48m.
Indiana Resources is an Australian-based explorer focused on advancing its portfolio of tenements, which are considered prospective for rare earths, base metals, and gold, in the Central Gawler Craton Province.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Indiana Resources
