The flotation pilot plant continues to deliver heavy rare earth enriched concentrate under continuous operating conditions at ambient temperatures, and the company has now commenced dispatching heavy rare earth mineral concentrate to potential offtake partners in Australia, Japan, and the US for independent product examination.
Victory Metals Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director Brendan Clark commented: “Our pilot plant has moved from a commissioning milestone to consistent, reliable operation, and that consistency is exactly what our preferred offtake partners want to see.
"Dispatching our heavy rare earth concentrate to these partners in Australia, Japan, and the United States for their own independent examination is a significant commercial step our product is now being assessed by the very groups that need it most.”
Pilot Plant Operations and Concentrate Dispatch
Victory’s purpose built flotation pilot plant in Perth, Western Australia has continued to operate successfully since its commissioning, producing heavy rare earth enriched concentrate under continuous, steady state conditions consistent with the results previously reported by the company.
Ongoing operation of the plant continues to de risk the company’s simple, low cost flotation flowsheet and provides Victory with direct ownership of its processing knowledge and the ability to optimise and scale its flowsheet rapidly.
With the flowsheet demonstrated at continuous pilot scale, the company has now produced sufficient volumes of its heavy rare earth enriched concentrate to commence sampling programmes with potential offtake partners. Concentrate is being dispatched to counterparties in Australia, Japan, and the United States of America for independent product examination, analysis, and qualification.
Independent examination allows potential offtake partners to verify the concentrate’s grade, heavy rare earth distribution, and low impurity profile in their own facilities, and is a customary and important step in the qualification of new supply sources.
The company believes the concentrate’s high heavy rare earth content, anchored by Dysprosium, Terbium, and Yttrium, positions it strongly with Western partners seeking secure, non Chinese supply of these critical materials. Victory will continue offtake discussions in parallel with the PFS and looks forward to updating the market as these programmes progress.