Victory Metals has recorded both “breakthrough” metallurgical results and greater mineral processing efficiency following kinetic leaching at its North Stanmore project in Western Australia.
Positive mineral processing data has consolidated North Stanmore as “demonstrating it is one of the largest, most technically advanced heavy rare earth clay hosted projects globally outside of China”, the company said.
This is shown through large ratios of yttrium within the project, with North Stanmore said to host over 35.9m of yttrium oxide – with current prices surging over 4,400 per cent.
The rare earth mineral is used in electronics and high-temperature applications, with a recent Reuters report saying global supply is constricted because of China’s export controls on the mineral.
Results from North Stanmore show approximately 80 per cent of rare earths were leached within 30 minutes – compared to the original four-hour assumption used in the project’s initial scoping study.
This translates, Victory Metals said in a statement, to a lower reagent cost and a simplified downstream purification circuit, significantly improving the project’s overall economics.
The leaching results, the company said, confirm a “clear pathway to a smaller leach circuit, lower reagent consumption and improved process efficiency”.
“These results represent a major breakthrough for the North Stanmore project,” Victory Metals chief executive officer Brendan Clark said.
“As Victory has been transitioning into the development phase, the company has significantly strengthened its technical capability, now comprising a team with more than 100 years of combined rare earths experience, an expertise base that has directly contributed to achieving these exceptional results.”
Engineering and metallurgy programs are underway at the site to capture the upside and integrate new results into the company’s pre-feasibility study for the project which is scheduled to be released next year.
Additional kinetic optimisation test work is also underway to help further improve operational efficiency.
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