17th Jun 2016 07:26
LONDON (Alliance News) - FinnAust Mining PLC on Friday said it has appointed KeyPointE Pty Ltd and QuedTech Pty Ltd to complete the next phase of metallurgical test work at the company's Pituffik titanium project in Greenland.
Work will begin immediately on the production of a high-purity ilmenite concentrate for analysis and distribution, which is expected to be completed in a few weeks, FinnAust said.
Once this is completed, attention will be turned to scaling up and optimising the process route identified in order to support large scale production of a similar high-purity ilmenite concentrate from the Pituffik black sands, which will evolve to include pilot scale continuous testing later in the year.
Following this, KeyPointE and QuedTech will look to finalise the processing flowsheet and advise on processing routes in order to optimise concentrate production rates and operating efficiencies.
FinnAust said design and engineering works will start shortly and conclude with trade-off studies to determine the best development scenario for inclusion in an exploitation application, which it aims to ledge in the first quarter of next year.
"Pituffik has been proven to host large and high-grade accumulations of low-impurity primary ilmenite. Work will continue to define development scenarios for this deposit leading to trade off studies later in the year, and our target for the year end is to define a maiden resource and to conclude initial sales agreements including metallurgical parcels obtained from the 2017 bulks sampling programme," Chief Executive Roderick McIllree said in a statement.
"KeyPointE and QuedTech are a natural fit for us and are recognised experts in the space. They complement our growing team of industry experts as we progress this unique project towards development," he added.
Shares in FinnAust were untraded on Friday morning, having last traded at 4.34 pence.
By Karolina Kaminska; [email protected] @KarolinaAllNews
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