Bayan Mining and Minerals Ltd has reported initial bench-scale results from its Phase 1 research program at The University of Queensland, using the company's licensed Yttrium Upgrade Technology.

The testwork achieved up to a 14-fold increase in yttrium concentration and a twofold purity upgrade from synthetic rare earth feed solutions. Conducted under a research partnership with The University of Queensland and led by Professor James Vaughan’s Hydrometallurgy Research Group, the program evaluated six ion-exchange resin-column runs using specialised iminodiacetic acid-functionalised polymer beads.

The process separates yttrium from mixed rare earth streams through a two-stage loading and weak acid stripping method. The initial trials demonstrated that yttrium can be selectively concentrated and purified from both mixed and heavy rare earth feed compositions, supporting the patented separation mechanism originally developed at the Colorado School of Mines.

"This bench-scale program delivers the first independent validation of Bayan's licensed Yttrium Upgrade Technology, demonstrating its ability to selectively upgrade yttrium purity from a representative mixed rare earth feed solution, achieving up to a two-fold purity increase in the loading stage effluent, and a 14x yttrium concentration increase in the initial stripping elution from a representative synthetic heavy rare earth feedstock."

"These results confirm the commercial potential of the technology to improve yttrium supply at a time when yttrium demand is accelerating on the back of AI and data centre infrastructure build-out."

— Nathan Kong, Chief Executive Officer

To broaden the technology's application across different ore types, Bayan plans to expand its Phase 1 research program across additional mixed and heavy rare earth feed compositions, including concentrates sourced from Australian and international developers. The technical data generated from these expanded runs will be used to assess future pilot-scale testwork and development opportunities.

Separately, Sun Silver Limited reported drill results at its Maverick Springs project within the surrounding district, intercepting 89 metres grading 70 grams per tonne silver equivalent from 126.5 metres downhole.

Read the full announcement: Yttrium Upgrade Technology - Initial Results