GT1 confirms high quality spodumene concentrate at Seymour project

GT1 reports 5.5-6% spodumene concentrate at Seymour project in Canada
Test work confirms suitability of simple DMS processing flowsheet
Partner EcoPro currently testing Seymour concentrate in Korea

Special Report: Green Technology Metals says metallurgical testwork at its Seymour lithium project in Canada has confirmed high quality spodumene production between 5.5-6%.

The company is well on its way to becoming Ontario’s first lithium concentrate and chemicals operation, with pilot work using a tonne of Seymour concentrate already underway at partner EcoPro’s South Korean facility.

The globally prominent manufacturer is expected to produce battery-grade lithium hydroxide by the second quarter of this year.

The aim of this latest testwork was to investigate orebody variability, particularly at lower plant feed grades, as well as establish ore sorting amenability for gangue rejection in Dense Media Separation (DMS) plant feed from lower-grade, high-dilution ores.

So far, it’s produced a spodumene concentrate at 6.1% Li2O, 0.9% Fe2O3 and 61.9% Li2O recovery after the application of magnetic separation.

Green Technology Metals (ASX:GT1) said it also highlights low impurities at industry-comparable recoveries from a DMS-only processing circuit and that good segregation between spodumene and waste rock can be achieved.

All of this confirms that the proposed plant DMS flowsheet incorporating two-stage coarse and fine DMS can be implemented at the project.

DFS the next step

The company says the variability program further extends its knowledge of the Seymour orebody and supports project development strategy for a simple, DMS-only plant flowsheet.

“The results from ore sorting and variability DMS test work have strengthened our understanding of the Seymour orebody, further reducing risks associated with our flowsheet and project development,” managing director Cameron Henry said.

“The spodumene concentrate grade and lithium recovery achieved are consistent with our previous test work and comparable to some of the world’s leading hard rock spodumene lithium projects.

“These results confirm the viability of our simple, modular DMS processing facility design for the Seymour Project, supporting ongoing work for our feasibility study.”

Outstanding laboratory tests are underway including:

Heavy Liquid Separation (HLS) testing and magnetic separation on DMS middling’s of -9.5/+3.3 mm coarse fraction feed after crushing to – 3.3/+0.85mm;
HLS tests on a new composite being made from ore sorting accepts materials to verify recovery performance;
Gravity separation tests for tantalum recovery on DMS magnetic fine rejects
(-3.3/+0.85mm) as a future opportunity for project value addition; and
Thickening and filtration test work for the purposes of sizing process equipment for the Seymour plant flowsheet.

This article was developed in collaboration with Green Technology Metals, 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.