Name of the Mine
Pittong Operation.

Location  
To the west of Ballarat, in Victoria, Australia.

Mine Owner/s  
Kaolin Australia, a subsidiary of Suvo Strategic Minerals.

Brief Description  
Pittong is the only hydrous kaolin processing plant and mine in Australia. The operation comprises the Pittong plant, the operating Pittong and Lal Lal mines, and the Trawalla greenfield mine site.

Pittong produces about 25 000 t/y of refined kaolin a year.

Brief History  
Pittong has been in operation since 1972.

Suvo acquired Pittong from a wholly owned subsidiary of the Imery’s Group in December 2020, and comprises a hydrous kaolin processing plant, two active kaolin mine deposits and one unused kaolin mine.

Primary Metals/Minerals  
Kaolin.

Secondary Metals/Minerals  
None stated.

Geology/Mineralisation  
The Pittong kaolin deposit occurs as a subhorizontal layer up to about 20 m thick, delivered by the in situ weathering of granitic rocks, which typically comprise quartz and feldspar minerals.

Feldspars in the granite were altered during the weathering process into kaolinite, an alumino-silicate mineral.

Reserves  
Not stated.

Resources  
Total indicated and inferred mineral resources are estimated at 5.69-million tonnes of kaolinised granite.

Mining Method  
Mining operations and haulage to Pittong Plant services are undertaken by a local mining contractor. 

Major Infrastructure/Equipment  
The mine consists of a hydrous kaolin processing plant, two active kaolin mine deposits and one unused kaolin mine.

Kaolin products are often purified from weathered granite by wet processing methods, which involves mixing the kaolin with water in a blunger.

The blunger breaks the kaolin lumps into particles, after which grit is removed. The slurry may be further purified into different particle sizes by hydrocyclones or centrifuges, after which it is dewatered and dried.

Kaolin products may be further upgraded by bleaching to improve brightness, and by delamination methods using attrition grinding or extrusion, or by calcination.

Prospects  
Metallurgical test work is ongoing at Pittong on sizable waste stockpiles.

Contact Details
Suvo Strategic Minerals
Email info@suvo.com.au
Website https://suvo.com.au/

Sources
Suvo Strategic Minerals. Pittong maiden mineral resource estimate (March 1, 2022).
Suvo Strategic Minerals. Website: https://suvo.com.au/ [accessed on May 31, 2022).