EQ Resources (EQR) has tested ore and waste stockpiles from its Wolfram Camp project in far north Queensland, with the ore stockpile achieving 86 per cent tungsten recovery.
Wolfram Camp is located about 21km northwest of Dimbulah and 60km south of EQR’s Mt Carbine tungsten mine.
Wolfram Camp was abandoned in 2018, but EQR hopes to revitalise the asset as it was a major source of critical minerals such as tungsten and bismuth.
Coinciding with this goal, the company has tested two bulk samples to evaluate grade distribution across size fractions for tungsten and molybdenum and assess the effectiveness of XRT sorting in recovering both critical minerals from surface stockpiles.
The ore stockpile, WBS Parrot, returned a head grade of 0.09 per cent tungsten and 269 parts per million (ppm) of molybdenum.
This result showed the XRT sorter can efficiently de-bulk tungsten-bearing ore, with 86 per cent of the total tungsten recovering in 5–10 per cent of the original feed mass.
The waste composite, WBS Combined, comprised three bulk samples sourced from historical waste stockpile and returned a head grade of 0.10 per cent tungsten and 199ppm molybdenum. A total of 75 per cent of contained tungsten were found in fines.
“These preliminary results highlight the technical potential to unlock value from historical stockpiles at Wolfram Camp using modern sorting techniques,” EQR executive chairman Oliver Kleinhempel said.
“The strong tungsten upgrade from the Parrot stockpile and meaningful recoveries from the waste composite reinforce the viability of this low-impact approach to resource recovery and offers exciting upside as we refine our processing strategy.”
The testing program was delivered by EQR in collaboration with TOMRA Sorting Solutions and The University of Queensland’s Sustainable Minerals Institute (SMI).
Looking ahead, EQR will conduct further bulk sample testing with the XRT ore sorter at Mt Carbine to assess in-situ sortability potential, with results to be implemented into production and stockpile evaluation.
“We look forward to completing the technical review and progressing to the next phase of evaluation,” Kleinhempel said.
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