Mount Ridley Mines (ASX:MRD) phase 1 testwork begins at Grass Patch HREE Project

Mount Ridley Mines has commenced Phase 1 metallurgical testwork at its Grass Patch Heavy Rare Earth Element Project in Western Australia, with Perth-based laboratory Nagrom appointed to conduct domestic testwork on representative mineralised clay samples from the Winstons and Keiths Prospects.

The program is focused on advancing the characterisation, beneficiation and hydrometallurgical processing of the company’s regolith-hosted heavy rare earth, scandium and gallium mineralisation.

Highlights

• Phase 1 metallurgical testwork program has commenced at Nagrom across the Grass Patch Complex in Western Australia.
• The program is focused on representative mineralised clay samples from the Winstons and Keiths Prospects.
• Phase 1 is designed to establish a comprehensive characterisation and beneficiation baseline ahead of hydrometallurgical processing.
• Results from the program will be integrated into broader international metallurgical development initiatives and institutional research partnerships.
• Mount Ridley is progressing toward a processing solution that encompasses beneficiation, extraction and separation of regolith-hosted and collocated heavy rare earth, scandium and gallium mineralisation.

Mount Ridley has appointed Nagrom to conduct Phase 1 of the company’s domestic testwork on representative mineralised clay samples from the Winstons and Keiths Prospects within the heavy rare earth dominated Grass Patch Project.

The release states the commencement of this program represents the first significant metallurgical program focused on the company’s newly defined heavy rare earth, scandium and gallium mineralisation following the establishment of maiden Mineral Resource Estimates at Winstons and Keiths.

Historical metallurgical testwork had previously been completed on lighter rare earth mineralisation at the Mia Prospect and included preliminary baseline work at Winstons and Keiths.

The Phase 1 program has been designed and will be led by recently appointed Technical Advisor, Processing and Metallurgy, Chris Larder, with the release stating Mr Larder brings experience in the development and optimisation of processing flowsheets for Western Australian rare earth and gallium-bearing systems.

The program is designed to establish a robust baseline characterisation of well-crystallised kaolinite-dominated saprolitic mineralisation at the Winstons and Keiths Prospects, evaluate beneficiation pathways to upgrade TREO grades ahead of hydrometallurgical processing, develop and optimise leaching parameters suited to the clay mineralogy of the Grass Patch HREE Project, and generate conditioned feed material to underpin subsequent stages of the company’s broader metallurgical development pathway.

The Phase 1 Nagrom program forms the first stage of a broader multi-stage metallurgical development pathway that Mount Ridley is advancing in parallel with its institutional technology partnerships.

The release states results generated through this program will provide the foundational technical dataset required to progress subsequent and more advanced stages of metallurgical development and will be integrated into the company’s broader international metallurgical development initiatives, including ongoing work with institutional research partners.

The Mount Ridley Project is located approximately 25km north of the deep-water port of Esperance and hosts defined heavy rare earth element, scandium and gallium resources identified through 70,000m of historical drilling.

A majority of the project tenure is centred on the Grass Patch Complex, which the release states is widely interpreted to be the primary source of the heavy rare earth enrichment identified across the project area.

Mount Ridley Managing Director & CEO Allister Caird said,

“This new phase of test work sets the foundation for everything that follows from a processing standpoint.”

The release states outcomes from this program will be integral to advancing the company’s broader metallurgical strategy.

It also states results from Phase 1 will be integrated into broader metallurgical development initiatives and institutional research partnerships.

The release states the company is progressing toward a processing solution that encompasses beneficiation, extraction and separation of its regolith-hosted and collocated heavy rare earth, scandium and gallium mineralisation.

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