Listed technology metals mining company AfriTin Limited has announced metallurgical test work results showing the successful production of a petalite lithium concentrate at its flagship asset at Uis Tin Mine in Namibia.
In a statement from the company, CEO Anthony Viljoen says this indicates the potential for a lithium by-product at the mine.
The patelite concentrate is used in the manufacture of premium glass and ceramics manufacturers, and is suitable feedstock for battery-grade lithium carbonate or lithium hydroxide converters.
“We are pleased to announce the results from the first phase of lithium test work for the Uis Mine, showing the potential for producing a high-quality petalite lithium concentrate from our lithium mineral resource.
“The lithium resource is contained within the currently mined ore body, and the lithium concentrate will be a by-product to our existing tin concentrate. These positive test results allow us to progress to the design and construction of a lithium pilot plant at Uis,” Viljoen said.
The company said the metallurgical test work produced high-purity petalite lithium concentrate presenting low contaminant levels.
The company also expects the concentrate to be converted to beta-spodumene through roasting, rendering it suitable for lithium processing methods employed by spodumene converters.
“Several potential off-takers in the lithium conversion industry have expressed interest in the company’s expected lithium by-product,” the company said.
The metallurgical test work was independently conducted at three South African test service providers LightDeepEarth, PESCO and Geolabs Global with bulk ore samples collected from the active mining area and the discard stream of the current processing plant at Uis.
These samples were processed via Dense Medium Separation (DMS) methods on a laboratory and pilot scale and achieved a 4 to 5 times Li2O upgrade. The
concentrates from the DMS process were subjected to a milling and flotation to produce a final lithium petalite concentrate.
The next phase of lithium test work will optimise flotation operating parameters and will involve the existing and two additional test work service providers, Nagrom (Australia) and ANZAPLAN (Germany).
A large bulk sample of 11 tonnes has already been collected for treatment at Nagrom’s test facility in Australia to produce lithium petalite concentrate product samples for distribution to potential off-takers.
The Company has also appointed Consulmet of South Africa as the engineering, procurement and construction management contractor for designing and constructing a
20 tph pilot plant at Uis with a target commissioning date in Q4 2022.
The pilot plant is intended as a proof of concept for a full-scale, integrated lithium beneficiation circuit, which would be added to the existing processing plant.
Petalite lithium concentrate produced from the pilot plant is intended for initial sale into premium glass and ceramic markets, and test material for existing and/or prospective converters of lithium ore concentrates to battery-grade lithium.
The company is also investigating the potential of sensor-based ore sorting technology to produce a lithium pre-concentrate prior to concentration with DMS and flotation.
Initial test work by Steinert (Germany) demonstrated a hyperspectral signature for petalite using a near-infrared and laser sensor. This has the potential of achieving
waste rejection early in the beneficiation process and increasing the feed grade to the lithium concentrator.
The results of the metallurgical test work and lithium pilot campaigns will inform the process flow design of the full-scale, integrated lithium beneficiation circuit, which is targeted for implementation in 2024.
