Red Metal comes up trumps with rare earth test results

'Outstanding' leach results have stoked the fire in the belly at Red Metal over its Sybella rare earth discovery near Mount Isa. The company said initial metallurgical testing pointed to Sybella being a heap-leachable source of rare earth oxide (REO) minerals with the potential for highly competitive capital and operating costs. Red Metal believes the Sybella project, about 20km south-west of Mount Isa, hosts a new REO deposit style for Australia and potentially a world first in nature. “These breakthrough metallurgical results have far exceeded our expectations and underlined the potential for heap leachable REO ore at Sybella," managing director Rob Rutherford said. "The Sybella results, as received to date, have been reviewed against peer projects using publicly available leach data and can be compared favourably to the recent exciting Brazilian discoveries. "The metallurgical work has indicated opportunities to further enhance these recovery results and Red Metal will accelerate its exploration programs. "Sybella has many of the attributes of the clay-hosted ionic deposits, but without the clay content which can cause problems and added costs in processing. "This provides Red Metal with the confidence that a highly competitive project could be developed with low capital and low operating costs.” Related: High hopes for Red Metal’s rare earth discovery The granite-hosted deposit has been hailed as a potential world-first by Red Metal, with the key REO minerals appearing to be fluoro-carbonate minerals. Phase 1 test work shows strong REO extraction with low levels of impurities can be achieved on coarse, nonpulverised reverse circulation chip samples using low levels of sulphuric acid at ambient temperature. This points to simple processing options potentially involving heap leach methods. Red Metal said, notably, results from intermittent bottle roll tests (IBRT) on 20 composite RC chip samples collected from the 1km-wide Boundary Fence East traverse at Sybella returned: Neodymium extractions averaging 78 per cent (maximum 90 per cent) Praseodymium extractions averaging 79 per cent (maximum 90 per cent) Terbium extractions averaging 48 per cent (maximum 64 per cent) Dysprosium extractions averaging 44 per cent (maximum 60 per cent) A low average sulphuric acid consumption rate of 37 kg/t (minimum 23kg/t) Low average impurity extractions of 7 per cent aluminium and 22 per cent iron Low average deleterious element extractions of 20 g/t thorium and 1 g/t uranium, with Broadly similar REO and impurity extractions and acid consumption results for oxidised and fresh granite samples. Red Metal said Phase 2 metallurgical research was in progress. This involves comminution tests and size fraction leach tests on crushed core samples as well as impurity removal trials. Results from this research are expected during the first quarter of 2024 and will better simulate a heap leach setting and provide more optimised data for a preliminary economic model. Exploration programs have been accelerated following the successful Phase 1 metallurgical test work, with preparations underway for a step-out drilling campaign along the 12km x 3km granite body at Sybella. Image at top of page: An aerial view showing Sybella discovery RC drill holes in relationship to the city of Mount Isa.

Red Metal comes up trumps with rare earth test results

Industry Queensland

Related News

Anglo selling off coal interests in radical shake-up

Castillo Copper keen to develop Big One

UQ advances ‘lightning’ solution for processing

Get access to breaking mining news, now.