Tivan (ASX:TVN) has completed flotation optimisation testwork, improving fluorite grades and recoveries, for the Speewah Project in Western Australia.
The testwork achieved grades up to 98.8% calcium fluoride from 14 cleaner flotation trials. The testwork also demonstrated potential to improve fluorite recoveries from 90% to up to 95% at the 97% calcium fluorite acidspar production specification.
Tivan, which has a market capitalisation of $172.66 million, says the results support the engineering design of Speewah’s process plant.
Executive Chairman Grant Wilson says these results represent major de-risking of Speewah and open multiple pathways for design optimisation and revenue enhancement going forward.
“In fast-tracking the Prefeasibility Study last year, we made strong assumptions as to historical testwork and expected fluorite recovery,” Wilson says.
“Our team have worked systematically since, utilising modern flotation reagents. They have achieved a substantial improvement on all historical results and have demonstrated that the 97% calcium fluoride acidspar threshold can be achieved without a material diminution in fluorite recovery.”
In conjunction, a new testwork program, using drillcore from a recently completed drilling program, is being conducted as part of an upcoming Feasibility Study.
The company’s primary targets for the testwork include testing different deposit lithologies and locations, optimising testwork to investigate the impact of alternative plant feed grades, and ore sorting testwork with a vendor to assess potential for upgrading the ore feeding the process plan.
A metallurgical sample drilling campaign to obtain additional core to support testwork through to piloting of the flowsheet is also being planned.
In parallel, Tivan is progressing development planning for Speewah for a mining and processing operation of fluorite ore to produce acidgrade fluorspar.
The Speewah Project is located 100km south of the port of Wyndham in the Kimberley region of northeast Western Australia.
