In a boost for Everest Metals, test work has delivered an outstanding 91 per cent extraction result for the critical mineral rubidium in pegmatite micas from its a pegmatite project in Western Australia.
The laboratory tests were carried out by Edith Cowan University’s (ECU) Mineral Recovery Research Centre and, encouragingly for Everest, also produced useful byproducts of in-demand lithium.
The test work was conducted under a research agreement Everest executed with ECU’s Mineral Recovery Research Centre in February this year for the extraction of rubidium from the company’s Mt Edon pegmatite project.
The results will underpin discussions with international off-take customers and, importantly, the construction of a pilot scale plant in 2025.
The project’s first phase involved small-scale laboratory testing of all its processing steps, employing advanced, more environmentally-friendly techniques, such as ion exchange, that also recycle water.
The latest results, from phase two of the study, demonstrate excellent extraction efficiency, with a remarkable 91 per cent overall recovery of rubidium from synthesised brine. A welcome 92 grams per tonne (g/t) lithium was also produced as the by-product.
Everest’s direct rubidium extraction (DRE) methodology is designed to maximise rubidium recovery using cost-effective and environmentally friendly methods.
In the phase one trials, the extraction tests used both non-destructive and destructive methods. Phase two test work studied two further critical processes – refinement and conversion.
The results provide a systematic outline for each stage of processing the ore, integrating both primary rubidium extraction and secondary lithium recovery pathways.
Management says the results demonstrate significant progress towards developing an economically viable and environmentally friendly extraction process, although with room for improvement.
Further testing is now underway to enhance purification and optimisation processes.
We are moving swiftly to determine the most efficient and economically viable process to recover value from the Mt Edon critical mineral project. Our ongoing research and development efforts are focused on evaluating various production processes to determine optimal rubidium recovery and purity outcomes.
Caruso said the consistent repeatability of conversion under a variety of test conditions demonstrates the strength of Everest’s key design parameters, reinforcing confidence it will be able to produce high-value rubidium components from Mt Edon material.
To scale up its processing technology, Everest and ECU now plan to jointly apply for federal government-funded Cooperative Research Centre projects grants, which they hope will underpin the construction of a pilot scale plant in 2025.
Everest’s spending on the project will also qualify for government research and development tax incentives.
Everest is also working to file an Australian provisional patent application to protect the intellectual property for to the process and, under the research agreement with ECU, the company will own any intellectual property created from the project.
It also plans to commence an engineering scoping study to deliver a high-level technological and economic analysis of its destructive rubidium extraction process.
The Mt Edon lithium-caesium-tantalum pegmatite prospect has a noteworthy strike length of at least 1.2km and occurs within the southern portion of the Paynes Find greenstone, about 420km north of Perth.
A maiden JORC-compliant mineral resource estimate for Mt Edon, published a few months ago, delineated a world-class 3.6 million tonnes at 0.22 per cent rubidium oxide and 0.07 per cent lithium oxide with a 0.10% rubidium oxide cut-off, for more than 7900 tonnes of rubidium oxide.
Rubidium is a critical material used in high-tech applications, including in defence, aerospace, medicine and fibre optic manufacturing.
The rubidium market is expected to grow from US$4.46 billion (A$7.07b) in 2023 to US$7.2b ($11.41b) by 2032 – and the soft white metal commands a price of $1758 per kilogram.
Everest is moving at a rapid pace with its rubidium project, which might not surprising given the world-class grades it has recently reported and the world’s high demand for critical metals as it pursues a green energy transition.
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https://thewest.com.au/business/bulls-n-bears/good-rubidium-results-build-off-take-potential-for-everest-wa-project-c-17129770
