Green Technology Metals Ltd (ASX:GT1) is trading higher after delivering lithium concentrate recovery exceeding 72% using heavy liquid separation at its flagship Seymour Project in Ontario, Canada.
The spodumene concentrate represents a critical milestone for the Canadian-focused multi-asset lithium business, which could help set up future offtake partners as well as inform a preliminary economic assessment (PEA).
Results confirm the simple two-stage DMS (dense media separation) flowsheet potential and investors have welcomed the news with shares as much as 6.17% higher in early trading to A$0.775.
Test work was based on 1,000 kilograms of representative composites as per the preliminary mine plan and the very high recovery is due to the large spodumene crystal size.
Concentrates are now being sent for conversion work to lithium hydroxide.
"An exciting time"
“The next few months will be an exciting time for the team at GT1 as we focus on increasing the value of our Flagship Seymour Project through metallurgical test work,” GT1 CEO Luke Cox said.
“These results will culminate part of our preliminary economic assessment and marks another important step closer to building a vertically integrated lithium business in Ontario, Canada.”
About the results
Green Technology Metals selected and shipped for testing four composite samples totalling about 1,000 kilograms of recent and historic diamond core, derived from the Seymour pegmatite.
The samples are made up of the different mineralisation phases seen in the pegmatite within, what GT1 expects to be, the final open pit mine shell at Seymour.
Heavy liquid separation (HLS) testing was undertaken at SGS Canada’s facilities in Lakefield, Ontario. SGS compiled a master composite, based on the four samples selected, to provide a preliminary indication of the lithium beneficiation performance by utilising DMS.
The resulting global HLS recovery, post magnetic separation including losses to HLS fines bypass, is 72%. This recovery has been reduced to align the laboratory magnetic separator with the industrial-scale equipment.
This HLS result shows a strong potential to use DMS as the primary recovery method. Further work will continue to be completed for an optimised flowsheet that will ensure maximised lithium unit recovery and mass yield will be achieved for the Seymour deposit.
What’s next
With the Seymour bulk sample permit approved by the Ontario Mines Department (MNDM), sampling is planned to begin in January 2023.
The company will extract approximately 99 tonnes from the North Aubry pegmatite outcrop within the Seymour project.
Spodumene concentrate produced through the pilot work will be used as feedstock for the Lithium Hydroxide Conversion Program (LHCP), which forms part of the ongoing feasibility study.
Summary table of the 8mm HLS test results to achieve an HLS concentrate grade of 6.0% Li2O and 1.2 % Fe2O3.
Read more on Proactive Investors AU
