Mineral processing improvements developed at Curtin University could allow economic development of the platinum group metal (PGM) Panton Sill deposit in the East Kimberly region of Western Australia, one of only a few PGM deposits in Australia.
Despite the value of platinum, palladium and other precious metals contained within the deposit, their distribution across a series of thin layers makes extraction economically challenging using conventional approaches.
A major collaboration between the Minerals Research Institute of Western Australia (MRIWA), Curtin University, and Panoramic recently identified a processing method combining roasting of ore concentrate and chemical dissolution that could liberate up to 97 per cent of the PGM and gold contained in the Panton Sill deposit, while reducing the use of salt and other chemicals.
Professor Jacques Eksteen from Curtin University’s Western Australian School of Mines: Minerals, Energy and Chemical Engineering said the findings of this research could reduce processing costs and enhance the recovery of precious metals from the resource.
“Finding a mineral deposit is only the first step in developing a mine,” Professor Eksteen said.
“If valuable metals can’t be extracted from the ore efficiently enough to make it profitable, even the richest mineralisation will be left in the ground.”
“If the results of our experiments can be replicated on an industrial scale, this could be the key to unlocking the riches of the Panton Sill and other deposits like it around Australia,” he explained.
MRIWA CEO, Nicole Roocke added: “This work delivers significant value to Western Australia from our world-leading research community.”
“The greater processing efficiency provided by the team’s work could be critical to making mining of the Panton Sill viable, establishing the first mine of this type in Australia,” she commented.
The Curtin University research team for this project included Professor Jacques Eksteen, Dr Alireza Rabieh and Dr Cleophace Mpinga.
The technical report summarising the findings of project M0458 can be located here.
