Red Metal (ASX:RDM) has commenced a Prefeasibility Study (PFS) to assess the economic viability of heap leach processing at its Sybella rare earth deposit in Queensland.
The company has engaged three Queensland-based consultants — DRA Global, AMDAD, and The Core Group — to design, optimise, and cost the rare earth mining and processing flowsheet for development of the Sybella Kary Zone ores.
Sybella is a granite-hosted ore body characterised by soluble fluoro-carbonate rare earth minerals, distinguishing it from common clay-hosted and monazite dominated deposits. The deposit starts at surface with zero strip ratio and sits 20km southwest of Mount Isa.
Red Metal notes the granite host is non-acid consuming, clay-poor, and competent but easily crushed, making it suitable for stacking into high permeable heaps for acid leaching.
The rare earth extraction proposed for Sybella utilises low-cost bulk mining techniques and simple ambient temperature, weak sulphuric acid heap leach processing.
The PFS intends to optimise the design and assess the economic benefit of heap leach processing 20 million tonnes per annum (tpa) of ore.
Red Metals will also scope the impact of scaling the operation down to 10 million tpa and up to 25 million tpa.
The study will examine the benefits of building an acid plant on site versus purchasing acid on the open market, and test the economic viability of separating the high-quality mixed rare earth carbonate into individual rare earth oxides.
Red Metal says the study will provide data needed to advance offtake discussions with potential end users and may facilitate funding support from federal and state governments and other entities.
The company anticipates announcing results from the study towards the end of this year or in early 2027.
Red Metal is a mineral explorer targeting copper, gold, and rare earth deposits across Australia.
Write to Paula Fabe at Mining.com.au
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