en.Wedoany.com Reported - On April 8th, Australian mining company Mount Ridley Mines Limited (ASX: MRD) announced the review results of historical metallurgical tests for its Grass Patch Complex heavy rare earth project. Data shows that under conventional hydrochloric acid leaching conditions, heavy rare earth recovery rates from multiple exploration areas consistently performed well. A single sample from the Winstons (Block 2) exploration area achieved a recovery rate of 86.5%. This area is part of the current mineral resource.
The tests covered multiple exploration areas between 2021 and 2023. The average heavy rare earth recovery rate for the Jody, Mia, and Winstons exploration areas was approximately 50%, with the core resource area Winstons (Block 2) showing the strongest metallurgical response. The Vincent area achieved an average magnetic rare earth element extraction rate of 76.9%, with the highest single-sample test recovery rate reaching 85.2%. The company confirmed that the mineralization responds well to conventional hydrometallurgical processing techniques.
In addition to leaching, screening and beneficiation tests also demonstrated significant enrichment effects. The total rare earth oxide (TREO) content in Vincent samples was upgraded from 498 ppm to 1,007 ppm, an upgrade factor of 202%; Mia samples increased from 2,771 ppm to 4,759 ppm, an upgrade factor of 172%; the average upgrade rate for Mia and Jody was 164%. Through -75 micron screening, over 80% of the total rare earth oxides can be enriched within 50% of the sample mass.
Currently, the company's mineral resource stands at 122.5 million tonnes inferred, with a total rare earth oxide grade of 889 ppm. Heavy rare earth oxides account for 41% of this, including dysprosium, terbium, and yttrium. There are also potential by-products of 838.7 million tonnes of gallium resources and 367.9 million tonnes of scandium resources. The project is located in Western Australia, 55 kilometers from the Port of Esperance, with access to sealed roads, power, and deep-water port infrastructure.
Next, Mount Ridley plans to collaborate with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to advance metallurgical optimization and evaluate combined recovery pathways for rare earths, scandium, and gallium, aiming to produce a mixed rare earth carbonate product.
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