JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Successful second-stage metallurgical testwork at FinnAust Mining’s Pituffik titanium project, in Greenland, has demonstrated the mine’s potential to produce a gravity-separated concentrate that compares favourably against existing hard rock sources of ilmenite.

FinnAust on Tuesday stated that the highly efficient separation achieved is capable of maintaining a commercially pure, high-grade concentrate and is expected to positively affect capital and operating requirements moving forward.

The resource’s overall composition further indicates the ilmenite should be readily soluble in sulphuric acid at high process efficiency making it suitable for all digestion process options.

Chemical analysis also shows a consistent ilmenite composition across the entire project area. Elements that could adversely impact final pigment quality, particularly whiteness and yellowness, are at least comparable to existing commercial products.

FinnAust CEO Roderick McIllree said the testwork was a big step forward in proving the commercial viability of Pituffik.

“Hard rock ilmenite projects require significant capital investment; however, in the case of Pituffik, mechanical erosion has done all the work for us. This is expected to result in some compelling economics for the project.

"This development further strengthens our view that Pituffik represents a potential source of globally traded primary ilmenite requiring a small implementation footprint allowing for rapid development,” he added.

Work will now continue towards defining a maiden Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant resource at Pituffik, which is expected later this year, ahead of the start of bulk sampling in 2017.

FinnAust, which is listed on the Aim and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, has a number of exploration licences at various stages of development in Greenland and Finland.

The company is focusing on the development of Pituffik, which comprises three main target areas along an 80 km coastline. 

The company’s share price on the LSE rose by 7.14% on Tuesday morning, while its share price on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange was up 9.09%.