OD6 Metals has returned high-grade head assays and sensor-based ore-sorting results from the Quinn Fluorspar Project in Nevada, demonstrating the ability to separate high-grade fluorspar from waste at a coarse crush size.

The testing used an approximately 166-kilogram metallurgical sample suite collected across eleven large-format samples from the Mammoth, Blue Bell, Horseshoe and Big Jim deposits. OD6 included hanging-wall, footwall, and internal waste domains to test how mining dilution behaves during sorting.

Head assays confirmed high grades across the principal mineralised domains, led by the Big Jim main vein at 98.3% CaF₂, Horseshoe high-grade mineralisation at 90.0% CaF₂, and Blue Bell main vein at 86.7% CaF₂, alongside 76.2% CaF₂ at Horseshoe breccia and 40.4% CaF₂ at Mammoth breccia. Independent quantitative X-ray diffraction mineralogy corroborated the findings, identifying fluorite as the sole fluorine-bearing mineral and returning 98.6% fluorite for Big Jim before beneficiation.

Preliminary sighter tests using TOMRA Laser and X-ray transmission technologies demonstrated clear discrimination between ore and waste across Blue Bell, Big Jim, and Horseshoe at a coarse particle size of 5 to 12 millimetres. The sorting performance indicates that waste can be rejected before fine milling and flotation, potentially lowering power, water, and reagent consumption while producing a coarse Metspar product.

“We deliberately did not just send TOMRA and Core our best-looking fluorspar. We selected discrete samples representing high and medium-grade mineralisation together with hanging-wall, footwall and internal waste so that we could understand how mining dilution may behave and, importantly, whether it can be removed before milling. At Blue Bell, Big Jim and Horseshoe, TOMRA has demonstrated very clear discrimination between these material types. This potentially gives us the ability to reject waste at a coarse crush size, upgrade selected material towards a Metspar product and substantially reduce the tonnes that ultimately need to be ground and floated to produce higher-value Acidspar.”

— Brett Hazelden, Managing Director

The metallurgical program is progressing alongside parallel work streams. OD6 intends to conduct larger-scale ore-sorting trials using 500 to 1,000 kg bulk samples to establish quantitative mass rejection, grade uplift and recovery performance at the Quinn project. Meanwhile, Core Resources is advancing its metallurgical program for the Quinn project, incorporating grind optimisation, Heavy Media Separation, and flotation testing.

Permitting activities are also underway at the project. The company is targeting Categorical Exclusion approval to enable maiden drill permitting at the Quinn project following seasonal biological and archaeological baseline surveys.

Read the full announcement: ORE SORTING RESULTS HIGHLIGHT LOW-COST UPGRADING AT QUINN