4th Apr 2014 07:54
LONDON (Alliance News) - Alexander Mining PLC Friday said testing in Australia has, for the first time, produced zinc cathode from ammoniacal leaching by using the company's AmmLeach Technology.
The mining and mineral processing technology company said that, in preparation for its proposed full-scale pilot plant testing of zinc oxides from properties in Turkey, which are to be acquired shortly by its partner Ebullio Mining Ltd, it conducted the breakthrough tests at the independent commercial facilities of Simulus Laboratories in Perth.
The company said the tests successfully demonstrated, using conventional equipment, bulk leaching trials and solvent extraction to produce high grade zinc cathode.
Alexander's AmmLeach process uses ammonia-based chemistry to selectively extract copper, zinc, nickel and cobalt from ore deposits, as well as others.
The company noted that zinc oxide ores have generally been considered largely untreatable and represent some of the highest grade base metal near surface deposits left undeveloped in the world, and the process could represent a radical shift from the traditional zinc refining approach employed for zinc sulphides and oxides.
"Alexander has achieved a world first in using its AmmLeach technology to produce a marketable grade zinc cathode," Chief Executive Martin Rosser said in a statement. "We have already built up an extensive database of all of the world's major zinc oxide deposits and conducted favourable AmmLeach amenability testwork on samples from a significant number."
Alexander Mining shares were up 7.3% to 5.50 pence, putting it in the top AIM risers in early trading Friday.
By Tom McIvor; [email protected]; @TomMcIvor1
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