ANSTO kicks off metallurgical testwork on Meeka’s REE projects

The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) has begun rare earth metallurgical testwork for Meeka Gold’s rare earth projects in WA.

ANSTO has a full suite of mineralogical, chemical, and hydrometallurgical facilities from laboratory through to pilot scale, which will investigate optimisation of the metallurgical process and development of a process flow sheet for the company’s rare earth projects.

Results from the Cascade and Circle Valley projects are expected in late July 2022.

Determining optimum recovery methods

Meeka Gold (ASX:MEK) CEO Tim Davidson said rare earth assays from Cascade and Circle Valley have shown shallow, broad, high-grade mineralisation across a very large area.

“We are now expediting the metallurgical test work to understand the process for producing a commercial product,” he said.

“ANSTO is recognised globally for their expertise in rare earth processing, and we look forward to working with them to determine the optimum method for metal recovery.

“Importantly, the mineralisation contains a high level of permanent magnet metals, being neodymium-praseodymium oxides.

“This will ensure high demand for a commercial product potentially resulting from these projects.”

This article was developed in collaboration with Meeka Gold, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.