Tivan is progressing the Speewah fluorite project, which forms part of the company’s broader Speewah vanadium-titanium-iron project in Western Australia.
Tivan officially acquired the Speewah project from gold explorer King River Resources in April 2023 for $20 million. It is located in the Kimberley region of north-east WA.
Tivan’s project team and technical advisory group recently completed an internal assessment supporting the company board’s decision to advance the project via a pre-feasibility study (PFS) that will evaluate its technical and economic feasibility.
Fluorite is used to produce commercial grade fluorspar products and fluorine. There is currently no domestic fluorspar or fluorine production in Australia.
The Speewah fluorite project’s PFS will commence in February and is expected to completed by June. It will consider a proposed mining and processing operation targeting the high-grade component of the deposit to produce acid grade fluorspar.
“In making the decision to progress to a pre-feasibility study, the board recognised the strong synergies that exist with the Speewah vanadium project,” Tivan executive chair Grant Wilson said.
“This includes our extensive progress on long-lead environmental items, our networking with global offtake partners, and our early and inclusive engagement with Traditional Owners.”
The Federal Government added fluorine to the critical minerals list late last year. The list outlines minerals that are essential to low-emission technology, the economy and national security, and whose supply chains are vulnerable to disruption.
“The inclusion of fluorine on the critical minerals list provides Tivan with strong tailwinds to advance the Speewah fluorite project, building upon the large body of work previously conducted,” Wilson said.
“The relative simplicity of the project enables us to target the end of (the second quarter) for pre-feasibility study delivery, providing Tivan with two major catalysts in the year ahead.”
The Speewah fluorite project hosts an indicated and inferred resource of 27.2 million tonnes (Mt) at 9.5 per cent calcium fluoride (CaF2), with a high-grade component of 6.7Mt at 24.6 per cent CaF2.
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