- 01- Watershed: 65.9% WO3 concentrate; 60-70% recovery.
- 02- 134-tonne pilot batch; moving to offtake talks.
- 03- DFS on track; target >50% WO3, upgrade to >65%.
Metallurgical test work on a 16.9 kilogram ore sample from Tungsten Mining’s (ASX: TGN) flagship Watershed project in Far North Queensland has achieved a tungsten oxide product grading up to 65.9%.
The company sourced the sample from diamond drill core with a focus on areas early in the mine plan, generating composites based on weathering profile and geological domain to ensure representation across all open-pit stages.
Testing demonstrated the ability of the process flowsheet to produce concentrates at or above typical customer saleable specifications at recoveries between 60% to 70%.
Tungsten is now conducting further bulk test work on a 134-tonne pilot sample to generate larger marketing samples while negotiating commercial terms with potential partners.
Conventional Beneficiation
Concentrate samples were produced using conventional beneficiation processes including x-ray transmission (XRT) ore sorting at TOMRA labs in New South Wales and gravity and flotation at Nagrom in Western Australia.
These represent a critical milestone in progressing offtake agreements for Watershed, with multiple commercial-grade samples being dispatched to targeted downstream partners across Asia, Europe, and North America.
Initial engagement has been encouraging and Tungsten anticipates strong demand for high-quality concentrate in a market currently constrained by limited supply outside of China.
The company is investigating the allocation of future production across several markets to avoid reliance on any single customer or region.
Proposed Process Flowsheet
The metallurgical work is expected to validate a proposed process flowsheet for Watershed’s revised definitive feasibility study, due for completion next month.
The company hopes it will enable a final investment decision before year end.
The initial flowsheet will comprise conventional processing technologies such as XRT ore sorting, primary and secondary milling with gravity separation, sulphide flotation, and cleaning gravity separation.
The Watershed processing plant will be designed to produce a tungsten oxide grading >50%, with additional circuits being progressively added to improve recovery and allow an upgrade to >65%.
2018 Acquisition
Tungsten Mining acquired Watershed in 2018 from Vital Metals (ASX: VML), which had already delivered a definitive feasibility study for the project.
An updated mineral resource estimate in June confirmed a total 69.7 million tonnes at 0.109% tungsten oxide for 76,000t contained metal.
A preliminary economic evaluation (PEE) released after the update outlined a high-margin project with potential to fast-track to production in 2027.
The PEE assessed that capital expenditure of $274 million would be required to deliver a net present value for the project of $1.3 billion.
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