Venari Minerals (ASX:VMS) has conducted metallurgical testwork which delivered a 44.8% and 132% upgrade in high and low-grade lithium samples, respectively, from the Red Mountain Project in the US.
Mass reductions of 59.6% and 63.1% were also achieved in high and low-grade samples, respectively. Meanwhile, calcite reductions of 15.7% and 35.6% were achieved in high and low-grade samples, respectively.
The objective of the testwork is to separate clay from other minerals and achieve an upgraded concentrate of lithium-bearing clay with decreased waste minerals.
Venari, which has a market capitalisation of $18 million, says the latest results add to a growing body of metallurgical testwork for the Red Mountain Project, as the project advances towards a maiden resource.
To date, testwork indicates high lithium leachabilities of up to 98%, as well as the ability to beneficiate Red Mountain mineralisation through the Falcon C concentrator, and now enhanced lithium upgrading and waste removal through attrition scrubbing.
Attrition scrubbing is a mineral processing technique often used to remove a coating of clay from another mineral of economic interest For lithium clays, it is used to separate other minerals, such as calcite, from clays in order to retain the clay.
Venari intends to conduct further tests with an aim to improve the results. The company has also recently commissioned lithium carbonate testwork for the project, aiming to produce a technical-grade lithium carbonate product and a subsequent upgraded battery-grade lithium carbonate product.
Chairman Tony Leibowitz says the latest testwork results confirm the potential to upgrade the lithium-bearing clays at Red Mountain into a high-grade concentrate with strong mass reduction and low deleterious elements.
“The company is continuing to rapidly progress multiple work streams at Red Mountain, with metallurgical testwork for a lithium battery product now underway and a maiden mineral resource estimate to be completed by the end of 2025,” Leibowitz says.
The Red Mountain Lithium Project, located in central-eastern Nevada, has broad mapped tertiary lake sedimentary rocks known locally as the Horse Camp Formation.
Venari Minerals, previously known as Astute Metals, is a diversified mineral explorer focused on the discoveries and development of critical and precious metals in Nevada.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Venari Minerals
