Armed with $1.2 million in funding and positive mineralogical results,
Block modeling and a reserve audit on the Big Whopper pegmatite deposit are under way, as is baseline environmental work. The study, which is being overseen by consulting firm Micon International, is expected to be completed in the spring.
At last report, resources stood at 7.1 million tonnes grading 1.29% lithium oxide (Li2O) and 0.35% rubidium oxide (Rb2O), excluding results from infill drilling in late 1997 and early 1998. The lithium in the pegmatite is mainly held in petalite, a lithium aluminum silicate. The rubidium is a trace constituent in potassium feldspar.
In 1998, a marketing study concluded that the project could generate annual returns of $13.5 million. Annual production of 58,000 tonnes of petalite, which is used in glass and ceramic products (and is a major constituent of heat-resistant borosilicate glasses), would account for just over 60% of that amount. Most of the remainder is attached to the production of feldspar, also used in glass and ceramics.
An American glass manufacturer, Corning Engineering, has taken an interest in the deposit’s petalite potential, after receiving positive results from chemical and physical tests carried out by Lakefield Research. The tests, which confirmed the concentrate’s high purity, yielded 4.54% Li2O, 0.021% Fe2O3, 0.19% K2O, 0.36% Na2O and 16.4% Al2O3, while demonstrating its applicability to glass and ceramic production.
Although the lithium and iron contents are said to be excellent, Avalon would prefer lower levels of sodium and potassium (from feldspar). To alleviate this concern, Lakefield has refined the flowsheet and produced a concentrate containing only 0.17% K2O and 0.1% Na2O, plus 4.7% Li2O.
Microprobe analyses on samples of sodium and rubidium-potassium feldspars testify to their purity as well.
The study is expected to be finished in three months.
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