European Metals Holdings Ltd (LON:EMH) Managing Director Keith Coughlan caught up with DirectorsTalk for an exclusive interview to discuss the beneficiation process and magnetic separation of a 15 tonne bulk sample, the DFS and further metallurgical test work.
Q1: This morning European Metals Holdings announced the commencement of the beneficiation process and magnetic separation of a 15 tonne bulk sample, what do you aim to achieve from this work?
A1: Well, in a nutshell, what we hope to achieve is a final flowsheet, we’ve narrowing that flowsheet for some time now, enhancing the process, getting our costs down etc so a final flowsheet. We also wish to get some samples of product for marketing, everyone we’re talking to now are asking for samples, samples of our end product so we’ll need some substantial amount to distribute to potential end users. Also, the other thing we’re looking to achieve with the beneficiation work is support for the engineering, the final engineering of the DFS so we want to make sure we go into that final engineering, which is extensive, with a firm plan & not still be testing a lot of different variables.
Q2: You mentioned in the release that you are starting the DFS, what has changed for you to be starting it now?
A2: We’ve always been doing work that contributes to the DFS, but I suppose with regards to formal commencement of it. We’ve got a renewed optimism that it’s the right time to begin doing this, this is based on the macro feeling in Europe, what’s happening there & the industry, the EU support etc. The fact that we can see a fairly clear path now to the formation of a government in the Czech Republic, all these sorts of things suggest to us that it’s time to be kicking this off formally.
Q3: When will the formal engineering work for the DFS begin?
A3: We’re planning that for later in the year, hopefully within the next couple of months.
Q4: You mentioned further metallurgical test work & the results pending from that, what can we expect to see from those results?
A4: So, as I’ve mentioned, European Metals have been doing various things that are geared towards the DFS, DFS style work, & one of those, one really important components of that is all the metallurgical test work we’ve been doing. We made an announcement a few weeks ago now with regards to our improved recoveries of lithium from the final roast, these are the sorts of things where we’re hoping to optimise, hoping to achieve.
So, this final round of test work, which we’ll report on fairly soon, we’ve been focussing in the areas of the use of low cost reagents, optimising the recoveries & the reagent addition rate, things basically designed to enhance the recovery but keep the costs down at the same time, this is obviously very important in regards to maintain the projects status in the bottom half of the cost curve. One of the things I get asked a lot is how Cinovec can be a bottom half cost curve producer of battery-grade lithium material given the relatively low grade lithium in the host rock, as compared with spodumene & spodumene is obviously the hard rock that the market tends to know better. Apart from the fact that we have these great tin bio-product, or co-product credit, the work we’re doing on enhanced recoveries goes a long way to ensuring we are a bottom half cost curve producer.
So, we have two advantages over the spodumene route with regards to the recoveries. Firstly, right out front, in the magnetic separation we tend to get significantly more or greater percentage of lithium report to the concentrate thereafter. Also, at the end of the process with the recovery of lithium from the roast, both of those we’re getting much better recoveries than we see with typical spodumene processes. This allows us to compete very favourable on the cost curve with those processes.
