New lab results confirm that 17.8% of the silica sand at Nova – 300km of north in WA - reports to the very fine silica flour size fraction. Image: Getty
Suvo uncovers ‘very rare’ natural silica flour at Nova
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The discovery of ‘silica flour’ at the Nova project opens up additional high value markets “that potentially change our entire project economics”, Suvo Strategic Minerals (ASX:SUV) says.
New lab results confirm that 17.8% of the silica sand at Nova – 300km of north in WA – reports to the very fine silica flour size fraction.
The silica flour market for fillers and wellhead cement additives are highly specialised, and pricing reflects that.
Suvo could charge $US140 – $US150 per dry tonne for silica flour, compared to glassmaking silica sand (US$35-$53 per dry tonne) and foundry silica sand (US$38-$53 per dry tonne).
Upcoming production samples will have the sand ‘fraction sized’ into two different fractions +75μm to -150μm (silica flour) and +150μm -1000μm (silica sand).
This will allow Suvo to quantify the various likely products from Nova.
“The discovery of silica flour in the fractional sizes of our tenements opens up additional high value markets that potentially change our entire project economics,” Suvo chairman Rob Martin says.
“Silica flour is a highly sought after product that is currently produced by grinding silica to achieve fractional sizing. This is expensive and requires processing; we are fortunate that it occurs naturally throughout the tenement.
“We will continue to update the market on the testing being carried out by Nagrom, which will potentially end with a high value, high quality silica resource with those results expected to be finalised this quarter.”
The 2021 air core drilling program was also fast tracked to ‘twin’ several historical drill holes to enable their inclusion into the company exploration data set.
Samples from these drill holes will be added to the current phase of production samples being analysed at Nagrom.
This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.
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