- Arcadia Minerals (AM7) receives “positive” results from cyclone and leach testwork from lithium clays at the Bitterwasser project in Namibia
- The company says cyclone testwork results indicate a grade increase of 28 per cent in feedstock and overall lithium recoveries of 89.6 per cent using a 14-micron cut-off
- This reportedly confirms that cyclones could offer a viable option to increase lithium grades before leaching takes place
- The second phase of leach testwork is underway, and the results will provide the basis for bulk leach testing
- AM7 shares are up 8.33 per cent to trade at 19.5 cents as of 12:54 pm AEST
Arcadia Minerals (AM7) has announced “positive” cyclone and leach testwork results from the Bitterwasser project in Namibia.
The company engaged process engineering firm Multotec to conduct cyclone testwork on 800-kilogram clay samples from the Eden Pan.
This work aimed to identify whether the fine clay fraction of <10μ (micron) particle sizes could be separated from the remaining larger material and if so, the lithium grade in the feedstock material could be increased.
The cyclone testwork indicated that if a 14-micron cut size is used, around 70 per cent of the material would report to the overflow (fine material) and around 97 per cent of this would be below 10 microns.
Multotec then sent the samples to a South African lab for analyses, which confirmed results averaging 633 parts per million (ppm) lithium for the feed sample, 810 ppm lithium for overflow and 147 ppm lithium for the underflow samples.
The cyclone testwork indicated a grade increase of 28 per cent in feedstock and overall lithium recoveries of 89.6 per cent using a 14-micron cut-off.
Arcadia said cyclones could therefore be a viable option to increase the grades at the Bitterwasser clay deposit before leaching takes place.
The company is now working with the University of Stellenbosch on a bulk-scale testwork program testing various acid doses, temperatures and leach times to potentially optimise and increase the leachability of Bitterwasser ores.
At the end of the leaching program, the most promising acid will be selected to test 100 kilograms of cyclone concentrate for leachability and the production of lithium carbonate.
Organic acid showed leach recoveries of 82 per cent of the lithium within one hour at a temperature of 60 degrees Celsius.
The second phase of leach testwork is now underway and, based on the results, an acid will be chosen for bulk leach testing.
Arcadia CEO Philip le Roux said the leach results confirmed that industry-standard recoveries could be achieved using potentially low-cost and environmentally friendly organic acids.
“This forecasts well for our ambitions to establish Bitterwasser as a potential environmentally friendly source of lithium and the globe’s next economic lithium-bearing mineral province,” Mr le Roux said.
AM7 shares were up 8.33 per cent to trade at 19.5 cents as of 12:54 pm AEST.