WA1 Resources (ASX:WA1,OTC Pink:WAORF) revealed results from the initial refining testwork conducted at its 100 percent owned West Arunta niobium project on Monday (October 7).
Located approximately 490 kilometers south of Halls Creek in Western Australia, West Arunta hosts the significant Luni niobium deposit, which was discovered during the company’s first on-site drilling in 2022.
According to a July 2024 mineral resource estimate, Luni contains inferred resources of 200 million tonnes at 1.0 percent niobium pentoxide, including a higher grade resource of 53 million tonnes at 2.1 percent.
“In June we reported that beneficiation testwork successfully produced a high-grade niobium concentrate, primarily via flotation – the first stage in a conventional ferroniobium process flowsheet,” said WA1 Resources Managing Director Paul Savich in a press release.
The refining testwork, which used the niobium concentrate produced from the beneficiation in June, returned a refined concentrate grading 66.9 percent niobium pentoxide at 99.9 percent recovery. WA1 said that they consider this an excellent outcome.
The concentrate can now be used for upcoming conversion testwork, the third and final stage in the process, with the goal of producing ferroniobium end-product.
“In parallel, variability and optimisation testwork of the beneficiation stage is ongoing with the aim of demonstrating mineralisation can be beneficiated from a portion of the Luni deposit to support detailed mine planning and other evaluations,” Savich said. "This will support process flowsheet development and preliminary mass balances to support engineering assessments.”
In September, to protect the rights of the Kiwirrkurra people and itself, WA1 Resources signed a negotiation protocol with native title representative body Tjamu Tjamu.
The protocol was entered into to ensure the project “happens the right way and everyone has a good chance to share the benefits of the project.”
Proposed infrastructure for West Arunta includes an access road connecting Luni to the mid-state highway, which has already secured a miscellaneous licence application following the negotiation protocol and other requisite approvals.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Gabrielle de la Cruz, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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