TIDMSO4
RNS Number : 8833N
Salt Lake Potash Limited
31 October 2016
31 October 2016 AIM/ASX Code: SO4
Preliminary Process Testwork Results and Trading Halt on ASX
-------------------------------------------------------------
Salt Lake Potash Limited ("Salt Lake" or "Company") advises that
trading in the shares of the Company will be halted on the
Australian Securities Exchange ("ASX") effective from Monday 31
October 2016. The halt was requested by the Company pending an
announcement regarding process testwork results.
The trading halt will remain until the earlier of an
announcement to the market regarding the above or the opening of
trade on ASX on 2 November 2016.
Trading in the Company's ordinary securities will continue on
AIM during this period and the preliminary results of this process
testwork are included below.
Results received to date from a range of process development
testwork have significantly enhanced the Lake Wells process model
and reinforced the potential for the Project to become a globally
significant Sulphate of Potash (SOP) crop nutrient source.
A further announcement, to include, inter alia, the results and
interpretation of X-ray diffraction analysis, will be made
shortly.
Preliminary process testwork results
Highlights:
Ø Substantial volumes of brine from Lake Wells have been
concentrated into harvest salts (Potassium and Sulphate mixed
salts) in three separate trials under simulated and actual site
conditions.
Ø International process development company, Hazen Research Inc.
(Hazen), have processed 240kg of Lake Wells brine to produce
harvest salts. Flotation trials on the salts achieved excellent
separation of halite from the harvest salts. The conversion and
crystallisation of the salts then produced the first Sulphate of
Potash (SOP) samples from Lake Wells brine.
Ø An extensive Site Evaporation Trial (SET) has been established
at Lake Wells. The SET has to date processed approximately 30
tonnes of brine and begun to produce harvest salts on a continuous
basis. The SET will continue to operate for up to 12 months
generating site specific evaporation data and producing sufficient
harvest salts for bulk production of SOP samples for distribution
to potential partners and customers.
Ø Process testwork at Bureau Veritas (BV) in Perth has processed
90kg of brine to produce 3.25kg of mixed product salts and BV is
continuing trials on a further 2,500kg of brine aimed at refinement
of the Lake Wells process design.
The Lake Wells SOP Production Process
The proposed process for production of SOP at Lake Wells first
sees brine extracted from Lake Wells concentrated in a series of
solar ponds to induce the sequential precipitation of salts,
firstly eliminating waste halite and eventually producing
potassium-containing salts (Harvest Salts) in the harvest
ponds.
The Harvest Salts are treated in a processing plant to convert
these salts into SOP, while minimising deportment of chloride (a
contaminant) to the product. The SOP production process consists of
crushing, reverse flotation to remove chlorides, conversion of the
mixed sulphate salts to schoenite, and crystallisation of the
schoenite to SOP before drying and packaging.
Bench Scale Trial - Hazen Research
Hazen Research, Inc. is a world class industrial research and
development firm located in Golden, Colorado that has developed
hundreds of hydrometallurgical, pyrometallurgical, and mineral
beneficiation processes for most commercial metals and industrial
minerals, and many inorganic and organic chemicals, including
potash and other crop nutrients.
Salt Lake engaged Hazen to complete an evaporation, flotation
and crystallisation trial on a representative sample of Lake Wells
brine. The Hazen evaporation test was monitored using a USBM
theoretical model; the actual evaporation pattern followed the
modelled theoretical pattern very closely.
Hazen first evaporated an initial 240kg charge of brine under
simulated site conditions producing 14kg of harvest salts for
further testing.
Sighter rougher reverse flotation tests were then conducted on
the harvest salts. Excellent initial halite separations were
achieved in reverse flotation with approximately 90% of the halite
removed from the harvest salts. Further rougher tests followed by
rougher-cleaner and rougher-scavenger tests are planned to refine
the process design in the coming months.
Flotation tails (harvest salt concentrate) were then converted
to schoenite under controlled temperature and dilution conditions
and filtered to recover the schoenite concentrate.
The schoenite was added to a saturated K(2) SO(4) brine at 55 C.
At these conditions, SOP was crystallized from solution by
selective dissolution and the Company successfully produced its
first solid SOP marketing samples.
Site Evaporation Trial
A large scale, continuous Site Evaporation Trial (SET) has been
established at Lake Wells to define process design criteria for the
halite evaporation ponds and subsequent harvest salt ponds.
The objectives of the SET are to:
-- Refine the solar evaporation pathway, under actual site
conditions, for Lake Wells brine. The analysis of this pathway will
refine the salting points of the various salts along the
evaporation pathway allowing for the completion of a detailed mass
balance for the pond system;
-- Refine the quality and quantity of brine and salts produced
at the various points along the evaporation path;
-- Define the distribution in various salts of potassium,
magnesium and sulphate through the evaporation system;
-- Provide design information for brine in-flow requirements,
pond area, required number of ponds and flow requirements between
ponds for a commercial facility; and
-- Determine opportunities for recycle of bittern or salt that
may improve potassium, magnesium or sulphate recovery to the
harvest salts.
-- Provide bulk salt samples for further process testwork and
production of bulk SOP samples for potential offtake partners and
customers.
The ongoing test work will also provide key inputs into the
pre-feasibility study costings for the halite and harvest salt
evaporation ponds for the Lake Wells SOP project and assist in the
development of a more extensive test work program to include:
-- Halite Evaporation Pond Design: On-lake pond construction trial;
-- Conversion Test Work: Harvest salts will provide the inputs
for conversion design trials;
-- Flotation Test Work: Outputs from the conversion trials above
will provide inputs for flotation work; and
-- Crystallisation Trials: Outputs from the flotation trials
above will provide inputs for crystallisation test work.
Brine is introduced to the first Halite Pond, H1, via a small,
hand dug surface trench. The brine progresses on a continuous basis
through a series of six ponds as it concentrates through
evaporation: two halite ponds; two transition ponds; and two
harvest salt ponds.
To date approximately 30 tonnes of Lake Wells brine has been
processed through SET Train 1, establishing an initial continuous
load of salts and enriched brine. Small quantities of harvest salts
have been recovered and the SET will produce tens of kilograms of
harvest salts per week on a continuous basis in coming months.
The SET will operate over several months across a variety of
weather conditions. Train 1 will process approximately 500kg of
fresh brine per day and Train 2 will double that volume when
established.
An Automatic Weather Station (AWS) has been established at the
SET site, providing comprehensive, continuous data for temperature,
solar radiation, pan & theoretical evaporation, relative
humidity and wind velocity and direction. The AWS data combined
with actual evaporation records from the nearby SET will allow for
sizing and detailed production modelling of commercial scale
evaporation ponds.
Bench Scale Trials - Bureau Veritas
The Company engaged international laboratory and testing
company, Bureau Veritas (BV) in Perth, to conduct a series of tests
evaporating brine at simulated average Lake Wells site conditions.
The aim of the BV trials is to monitor the chemical composition of
the brine and salts produced through the evaporation process to
establish:
-- Concentration thresholds in the brine chemistry which can be
used to maximise the recovery of harvest salts and minimise the
quantity of dilutive salts into a process plant;
-- The quantity and composition of harvest salts which will for
the plant feed in commercial production; and
-- The potential for any internal evaporation pond recycle
streams that may improve harvest salt recovery.
The first trial in the series consisted of evaporation of 90kg
of brine on a load cell to monitor evaporative loss. The
temperature of the brine was controlled to a constant 23oC using
infra-red lamps and air flow across the brine surface was provided
by a fan.
From the initial 90kg charge 3.25kg of harvest salts (dry basis)
were collected and analysed for chemical composition and crystal
structure. Analysis of harvest salts is pending.
The evaporation pathway at BV appears to closely match the
pathway demonstrated at Hazen Labs. BV has now commenced
evaporation of a further 2500 kg of brine to provide harvest salts
for further flotation and crystallisation testwork, for refining
the SOP production model and also to provide additional customer
samples.
Competent Person Statements
The information in this report that relates to Process Testwork
Results is based on, and fairly represents, information compiled by
Mr Bryn Jones, BAppSc (Chem), MEng (Mining) who is a Fellow of the
AusIMM, a 'Recognised Professional Organisation' (RPO) included in
a list promulgated by the ASX from time to time. Mr Jones is a
consultant of Inception Consulting Engineers Pty Ltd.
("Inception"). Inception is engaged as a consultant by Salt Potash
Limited. Mr Jones has sufficient experience, which is relevant to
the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration
and to the activity which he is undertaking, to qualify as a
Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the
'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral
Resources and Ore Reserves'. Mr Jones consents to the inclusion in
the report of the matters based on his information in the form and
context in which it appears.
For further information please visit www.saltlakepotash.com.au
or contact:
Matt Syme/Sam Cordin Salt Lake Potash Limited Tel: +61 8 9322 6322
Colin Aaronson/Richard Tonthat/Daniel Bush Grant Thornton UK LLP (Nominated Adviser) Tel: +44 (0)207 383 5100
Nick Tulloch/Beth McKiernan Cenkos Securities plc (Broker) Tel: +44 (0) 131 220 6939
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
MSCMBBTTMBIJBIF
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 31, 2016 08:48 ET (12:48 GMT)
Salt Lake Potash (LSE:SO4)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2024 to May 2024
Salt Lake Potash (LSE:SO4)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2023 to May 2024