en.Wedoany.com Reported - OD6 Metals (ASX:OD6) has announced interim results from ore sorting trials at its Quinn fluorspar project in Nevada, USA, demonstrating that high-grade fluorspar can be clearly separated from low-grade mixed material and waste rock at the primary crushing stage.
The company collected 166 kilograms of metallurgical samples from 11 separate mining areas and dispatched them to TOMRA's test center in Germany and Core Resources in Brisbane for analysis. Head assays showed calcium fluoride (CaF2) grades across four major mineralized domains: 98.3% at the Big Jim main vein, 90% at the Horseshoe mineralized zone, 86.7% at the Blue Bell main vein, and 76.2% at the Horseshoe breccia. Independent quantitative X-ray diffraction (QXRD) mineralogical analysis confirmed these results, with fluorspar content of 98.6%, 90.4%, 91.6%, and 48.5% at Big Jim, Horseshoe, Blue Bell, and Mammoth, respectively, and fluorspar was identified as the only fluorine-bearing mineral.
TOMRA's laser and X-ray transmission technology has demonstrated the ability to separate ore from waste rock at coarse particle sizes across the Blue Bell, Big Jim, and Horseshoe domains. Among these, samples from the Big Jim main vein returned assay results exceeding the typical CaF2 requirements for acid-grade fluorspar, though further verification is still needed to confirm whether a directly saleable product can be produced.
OD6 Metals Managing Director Brett Hazelden noted that the trials did not only submit high-grade samples for testing; instead, discrete samples representing both high-grade and medium-grade mineralization were selected and delivered along with hanging wall, footwall, and internal waste rock to assess the effects of mining dilution and the feasibility of waste rejection prior to grinding. "Across the Blue Bell, Big Jim, and Horseshoe domains, TOMRA has demonstrated a very clear differentiation capability on these material types," he said.
Hazelden stated that this capability means waste rock can be rejected at primary crushing size, upgrading the selected material into a metallurgical-grade fluorspar (metspar) product while significantly reducing the tonnage requiring grinding and flotation to produce higher-value acid-grade fluorspar. Early waste rejection is expected to reduce capital and operating costs by lowering grinding energy consumption, water usage, reagent consumption, and tailings generation, while also improving the calcium fluoride feed grade.
In addition, the high natural grade supports direct shipping of metallurgical-grade fluorspar product, potentially generating near-term cash flow before a full flotation circuit is constructed; the upgraded feed can also be directed to flotation to produce acid-grade fluorspar. As next steps, the company plans to conduct larger-scale sorting trials using 500 to 1,000 kilogram bulk samples to determine quantitative rejection rates and grade uplift, while continuing metallurgical test work with Core Resources.
According to available data, fluorspar is classified as a critical mineral in the United States, which currently has a 100% import dependence for fluorspar. OD6 Metals is a critical minerals exploration and development company with projects spanning fluorspar, rare earth elements, and copper in the United States and Australia.
