Elevate Uranium collects bulk samples from Koppies project for extensive metallurgical testing
Elevate Uranium (ASX: EL8) has completed the excavation of eight test pits at the Koppies project in Namibia to provide bulk samples for metallurgical test work.
Samples of up to 200 kilograms have been collected from each metre interval, with a 10kg sample used for confirmatory assays before freighting all samples to a facility in Perth.
They will be subject to Elevate’s proprietary U-pgrade beneficiation process, originally developed for testing the uranium mineralisation at the company’s Marenica project in Namibia.
Excavation is the first stage of planned test work to confirm anticipated results at bench scale level before preparing for a future U-pgrade pilot plant.
Shallow resource
The test pits at Koppies have been completed to a maximum depth of just six metres due to the shallow nature of the 58 million pound resource.
They highlight large areas of exposed bright yellow carnotite (uranium mineral), particularly evident in the pits excavated in weathered basement lithology.
The carnotite is reported to occur in fractures in the basement rocks, and any mining and processing method is expected to result in breakage of the mineralisation at the weakest points.
The carnotite is expected to be effectively liberated in the early stages of the U-pgrade process.
Representative samples
The location of each test pit was selected to ensure the collection of representative samples of Koppies mineralisation.
Selection was based on the proximity of the mineralisation to the surface, a range of uranium and gangue mineral (especially calcite) grades, a range of lithologies and distribution through the Koppies 1, 2, and 3 project areas in which 91% of the resource is located.
Elevate stated that excavation of an “open” pit produces samples with a similar particle size distribution to the expected run-of-mine feed. By comparison, samples recovered by drilling are not suitable, as the action of the drill bit can produce many fine particles.
Other studies
The company stated that pit samples would also be used for hardness and abrasion testing, as well as to confirm ore bulk density for different rock lithologies.
Petrological and petrographic studies are also planned to assist in understanding the carnotite source, along with mineralogical studies to determine the association of minerals present and the expected performance of U-pgrade.