AXE reports 90%+ recovery rates for cobalt, manganese, copper at Ketchowla
Hey! Looks like you have stumbled on the section of our website where we have archived articles from our old business model.
In 2019 the original founding team returned to run Next Investors, we changed our business model to only write about stocks we carefully research and are invested in for the long term.
The below articles were written under our previous business model. We have kept these articles online here for your reference.
Our new mission is to build a high performing ASX micro cap investment portfolio and share our research, analysis and investment strategy with our readers.
Click Here to View Latest Articles
Archer Exploration Limited (ASX:AXE) has today informed the market of outstanding results from recent metallurgical test work it conducted on drill samples from its Ketchowla Cobalt Manganese Project in South Australia.
The positive metallurgical tests, combined with the results from AXE’s earlier drilling at the site, both reinforce the potential for the company to produce significant cobalt and manganese at Ketchowla.
Last year the company completed an RC drill program at K1 and K2, and a three metre composite from K1 was submitted for metallurgical testing to evaluate if and how the manganese, cobalt, copper and other metals could be recovered. K1 is part of a larger mineralised 20-kilometre structure at Ketchowla.
Today’s promising results indicate a recovery rate of more than 90 per cent for cobalt, copper, manganese and nickel including:
- up to 98.66 per cent cobalt
- up to 99.39 per cent manganese
- up to 91.27 per cent copper
The results demonstrate that recovery of the metals can be done through the use of sulphuric leaching at atmospheric pressure and ambient temperature.
It’s worth noting that AXE is an early stage play and investors should seek professional financial advice if considering this company for their portfolio.
The test work was undertaken in two stages. Stage 1 is called ‘desliming’ (the removal of clays) and gravity separation to make a concentrate that can be leached. Stage 2 is the actual leaching of the concentrate using sulphuric acid and sulphur dioxide (to control the pH).
Archer’s Executive Chairman, Greg English described today’s results as encouraging. “To be able to achieve cobalt recoveries of up to 8.66 per cent and manage recoveries of close to 100 per cent greatly enhances the potential of Ketchowla. The leaching was undertaken using standard mineral processing techniques without the need for Archer to develop new processes. The ability to use ‘off the shelf’ technology significantly de-risks the project,” he said.
The initial baseline leaching test was conducted with sulfuric acid alone and resulted in low levels of recovery. However, the introduction of sulphur dioxide significantly improved the recovery, particularly of manganese and cobalt, as shown in the table below:
These promising results — including manganese extraction of close to 100 per cent at a PH level of 1, over 96 per cent cobalt and nickel extraction and 91 per cent copper — go a long way towards displaying the potential for a simple leaching process for AXE once at production stages.
Exploration already completed by the company has identified extensive outcropping of cobalt and manganese –rich mineralisation across the Ketchowla project area (K1 to K9 structures) and has pegged several further targets for follow up exploration.
General Information Only
S3 Consortium Pty Ltd (S3, ‘we’, ‘us’, ‘our’) (CAR No. 433913) is a corporate authorised representative of LeMessurier Securities Pty Ltd (AFSL No. 296877). The information contained in this article is general information and is for informational purposes only. Any advice is general advice only. Any advice contained in this article does not constitute personal advice and S3 has not taken into consideration your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Please seek your own independent professional advice before making any financial investment decision. Those persons acting upon information contained in this article do so entirely at their own risk.
Conflicts of Interest Notice
S3 and its associated entities may hold investments in companies featured in its articles, including through being paid in the securities of the companies we provide commentary on. We disclose the securities held in relation to a particular company that we provide commentary on. Refer to our Disclosure Policy for information on our self-imposed trading blackouts, hold conditions and de-risking (sell conditions) which seek to mitigate against any potential conflicts of interest.
Publication Notice and Disclaimer
The information contained in this article is current as at the publication date. At the time of publishing, the information contained in this article is based on sources which are available in the public domain that we consider to be reliable, and our own analysis of those sources. The views of the author may not reflect the views of the AFSL holder. Any decision by you to purchase securities in the companies featured in this article should be done so after you have sought your own independent professional advice regarding this information and made your own inquiries as to the validity of any information in this article.
Any forward-looking statements contained in this article are not guarantees or predictions of future performance, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond our control, and which may cause actual results or performance of companies featured to differ materially from those expressed in the statements contained in this article. S3 cannot and does not give any assurance that the results or performance expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements contained in this article will actually occur and readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
This article may include references to our past investing performance. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of our future investing performance.
