Great Western Mining Corporation (AIM: GWMO) has reported encouraging initial metallurgical results from its Defender Tungsten Project in Nevada, with test work achieving a tungsten recovery rate of 92.98%.
Bench-scale flotation testing on a representative bulk sample upgraded material from a starting grade of 0.35% WO₃ to a rougher concentrate grading 7.21% WO₃, while recovering almost 93% of the tungsten from the pre-treated material.
The company said the results compare favourably with similar regional skarn-hosted tungsten projects and indicate that Defender mineralisation may be amenable to conventional flotation processing.
The 750kg bulk sample was collected across around 1km of strike and first underwent sulphide removal before tungsten flotation. The pre-treatment stage retained 99.46% of the tungsten, while removing sulphide contaminants with minimal loss of the target mineral.
Chief executive Ed Loye said the combination of high recovery, strong grade uplift and low levels of potentially problematic elements provided a strong starting point for further optimisation.
The resulting rougher concentrate will now be used in cleaner-stage test work aimed at increasing the tungsten grade towards potential marketable concentrate specifications, with Eriez also assessing whether a mild regrind stage could improve mineral liberation.
Investors should note that these are preliminary bench-scale metallurgical results. Further optimisation work is required before Great Western can demonstrate production-scale recoveries or a saleable tungsten concentrate.
