en.Wedoany.com Reported - Canadian mining company PMET Resources Inc. recently announced that its Shaakichiuwaanaan project, located in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay region of Quebec, has successfully produced approximately 4.47 tonnes of high-grade spodumene concentrate from the CV5 pegmatite through the "ApplePick" program. The concentrate grades at 6.09% Li₂O with an iron content of only 0.58% Fe₂O₃, achieving a recovery rate of 89.0%. This result was achieved through a dense media separation (DMS) pilot plant, using feed material sourced from mineralized boulders in the sub-ice stream below the main CV5 outcrop, which was crushed on-site and transported to the SGS Lakefield facility in Ontario for processing.
Darren L. Smith, Executive Vice President of Exploration for the company, stated: "The ApplePick program further demonstrates the potential of our DMS-only processing route and has exceeded our expectations in terms of concentrate grade, quality, and yield." He added that the program not only provided a significant quantity of spodumene concentrate to support offtake and intermediate product initiatives but also generated tailings material for tantalum recovery testing. The high recovery rate data from this pilot test will be incorporated into the updated feasibility study for the CV5 pegmatite, scheduled for release in Q4 2026, and is expected to optimize the lithium grade-recovery curve.
Furthermore, PMET plans to launch the "BerryPick" project, a larger-scale pilot test targeting surface pollucite samples to produce cesium concentrate samples, supporting downstream cesium product evaluation. The Shaakichiuwaanaan project hosts one of the world's largest pegmatite mineral resources, with its CV5 pegmatite having published probable reserves of 84.3 Mt (grading 1.26% Li₂O), demonstrating the project's potential in critical mineral supply.
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