The price for contained tantalum pentoxide was running at about US$45 per pound earlier this year, but since then has hit levels around the US$100/lb mark.
The world market is currently dominated by Sons of Gwalia which produces about 50% of global supply from its Western Australian projects at Wodgina (100km south-east of Port Hedland) and Greenbushes (70km south-east of Bunbury).
KLS told MiningNews.net that it planned to springboard its projects into production in the next few months.
The Arthur River and Beryl River projects, located 150 km north-east of Gascoyne Junction in WA, were acquired from Rare Resources NL.
KLS purchased a treatment plant last week and plans to move the plant to the mine site in the next six months.
“We are looking at getting things up and going in the next six months,” KLS director, Neil Biddle, said.
“First we are going to treat about six months worth of mineable reserves at the plant site and then we are going to move the plant down to the mine at Gascoyne.
“We will use that six months to get Arthur River and Beryl Hill up and running.”
The company recently completed 2200m of drilling at Arthur River and is currently waiting for assay results.
“We are chasing hard rock tantalite grades of 500 parts per million, or 200ppm in alluvial material,” Biddle said.
“Previous drilling found values of up to 470ppm of tantalite and 1200 ppm of columbite.”
Biddle is well acquainted with the projects. He was previously managing director of Border Gold, which was in joint venture with Rare Resources at both Arthur River and Beryl Hill.
Although KLS has not quantified the resource yet, Biddle is confident that it is sizeable.
“The only way to quantify the resource is to put it through the plant and look at what is there,” he said.
“Arthur River and Beryl Hill boast the most promising pegmatites in the Yinnetharra Pegmatite Belt.”
Biddle said the tantalum project had the potential to become a company maker.
“Kanowna Lights is a small company which is about to become a huge one,” he said.
“Although the company’s nickel laterite and gold projects are promising they are at relatively early days.
“The tantalum project is not only promising but can be advanced into production very quickly.”
Unfazed by the boom-bust nature of the tantalum industry in the past, Biddle believes the demand for the metal is long-standing.
“Tantalite has really come to the fore because of the boom in computers and mobile phones,” he said.
“The price of tantalite has doubled in the last twelve months to US$100/lb but Kanowna is looking for a longer term uptake contract.”
