AGM plans to build a small pilot plant by October that will treat about 20 tonnes of ore per hour. The company says this pilot mining and processing operation (which will cost less than $1 million to set up) will be invaluable in helping it assess the grade potential of its greater resources.

 

 

AGM’s managing director, Michael Fotios, says the pilot plant will begin operating in October and a notice of intent to mine will be submitted within the next two weeks.

The pilot operation will be based on the known open pit resources at Dalgaranga of 130,000t at 320gpt Ta2O5, 40,000t of surface stockpiles grading 320gpt Ta2O5 and 10,000t of tailings from past production grading 1000gpt Ta2O5.

The company’s plan is to treat small parcels of ore for the next six to nine months with the objective of being in a position to produce at a rate of 30,000lbpa by Christmas.

AGM ultimately wants to become a niche tantalum producer processing 200,000-300,000t of material for an output of 100,000-150,000lbpa of tantalite concentrates.

Marketing studies completed by the company’s consultants have identified a strongly undersupplied market for tantalite concentrates for at least the next three years with demand growing at about 8% per annum.

The world’s estimated current consumption is 4 million pounds of Ta 2O5.

Tantalum is increasingly replacing ceramics and aluminium in the manufacture of electronic capacitors for the communications sector and tantalum oxides are used in the electronics fields, predominantly in the making of computer memory chips and processors.

In addition, the metal’s alloying qualities are harnessed in steel making and the manufacture of specialised and high-strength alloys, particularly for the aerospace industry.

At Dalgaranga, which is north-west of Mt Magnet, AGM has identified eight tantalum bearing pegmatites which are stacked vertically to a depth of at least 100m.

At Tantalus, the company has found a large, near-surface pegmatite at least 500m in length, averaging 30m in thickness and 100m wide. Both project areas have upside and drilling continues to identify further targets.

To date metallurgical testwork has been excellent. AGM’s data suggests that recoveries of at least 50% are achievable and the concentrate produced is high quality with a high tantalum to niobium ratio. No contaminants have been identified in the concentrate.

AGM’s managing director, Michael Fotios, said the pilot plant would begin operating in October and a notice of intent to mine would be submitted within the next two weeks.

“The company has received expressions of interest from Europe, the United States, Japan and China regarding the purchase of concentrates and participation in the project,” Fotios said.

“At the invitation of major end users of tantalite, a marketing trip will be completed during early September to hold discussions, regarding sales and project funding, with the parties in Europe and the US.

“Preliminary discussions with Japanese parties have already commenced.”