American Tungsten & Antimony Ltd. (AT4) has commenced refurbishment works at its Dutch Mountain tungsten processing facility in Utah, as it races to meet US critical mineral demand.
The company is capitalising on a strategic advantage: the mill sits on private land and is already fully permitted by the State of Utah.
By bypassing the lengthy federal permitting timelines, often a multi-year hurdle for US mining projects, AT4 aims to have the facility online within approximately six months.
The refurbishment is estimated to cost US$400,000. Refurbishment works include a comprehensive plant clean-up, the installation of new electrical wiring, and the refurbishment of crushers, sorters, and shaker tables.
AT4 Managing Director Andre Booyzen said the project is a vital step in removing a historical processing bottleneck in Utah’s Clifton Mining District.
“Refurbishing the Dutch Mountain mill is key to our plans to restart processing tungsten as soon as possible to meet strong domestic US and global demand,” Booyzen said.
“Getting the mill back into production will help remove a longstanding bottleneck in the Clifton Mining District and is the first step towards boosting capacity and working towards regional consolidation.”
The mill utilises a simple gravity separation circuit designed specifically for coarse-grained scheelite (tungsten), which avoids the need for complex and costly chemical reagents.
Feedstock for the restart will be sourced from the historical Fraction Lode mine, which successfully processed ore through this exact mill as recently as 2017.
To oversee the technical execution, AT4 has appointed experienced geologist and mine supervisor Jack Webby as lead Project Manager.
Webby has 10 years of experience in consulting to the resources sector including across a range of commodities and has experience in handling a broad range of challenges across the whole of mine life cycle.
The company is also moving ahead with exploration, having submitted a notice of intent to the Bureau of Land Management to commence drilling at the Fraction Lode mine.
This program aims to confirm historical mineralisation and test extensions of the known tungsten-bearing structures at depth, providing the long-term data needed to support a sustained production profile.
The company expects permit approval without undue delay, allowing drilling to commence after.
