Red Metal Ltd has achieved a significant advancement in metallurgical testing of its rare earths ore from the Sybella project located in Queensland. The company has successfully replaced the conventional two-stage impurity removal process with a more efficient ion exchange method. This innovation is expected to reduce costs while enhancing the purity of the extracted products.
The proposed ion exchange plant will be designed, built, and operated by Core IPEX. Ion exchange technology is frequently utilized for the recovery of primary metals such as uranium, nickel, and cobalt, as well as for water purification. The new process offers several advantages, including the potential for a significantly higher purity mixed rare earth carbonate (MREC), reduced alkali costs, and decreased complexity in the processing flowsheet. This streamlined approach promises lower operating and capital costs associated with impurity removal and MREC precipitation.
Red Metal’s Sybella project benefits from its soft ore characteristics, beginning with a free-digging top layer of approximately 10 meters. The company highlights the relatively simple crushing process and reduced processing expenses by employing low-acid solutions. The soft nature of the ore allows for energy savings, low impurity levels following leaching, a smaller waste dump, and eliminates the need for expensive hydrometallurgical processes that require extreme heating and cracking of the ore.
The Sybella deposit spans a considerable area of 12 kilometers long and 3 kilometers wide, featuring granite-pervasive ground conducive to straightforward low-temperature processing. Management indicates that this configuration may result in a low capital expenditure operation. Recent intermittent bottle-roll tests conducted on reverse-circulation (RC) drill chips have confirmed the ore’s suitability for a heap leaching processing operation, demonstrating promising metal recovery rates and chemical consumption in hydrometallurgical processes.
In parallel, Red Metal is conducting trials focused on impurity removal and column leach tests to optimize metal recoveries and validate previous findings from the bottle-roll tests. The completion of these varied metallurgical tests is crucial for understanding the potential for processing and extraction before incurring costs for extensive drilling programs.
Following a successful step-out drilling campaign aimed at expanding mineralization beyond known boundaries, the company has tested an area measuring 8 kilometers by 3 kilometers. A total of 120 holes were drilled, reaching a cumulative depth of 8,171 meters. This effort revealed two zones of high-grade mineralization, each approximately 1 kilometer wide, suggesting substantial tonnage potential. Once assay results are received, Red Metal plans to conduct infill drilling to upgrade to a mineral resource and develop a mining study.
In addition to its activities in Queensland, Red Metal is actively pursuing high-impact initiatives in Western Australia. The company is advancing its Pulkarrimarra and Pardoo copper-gold projects with a recent funding boost of $2.5 million, secured through the exercise of unlisted options. This capital injection positions the company favorably to explore its copper-gold targets after completing a successful capital raise in September and October, during which over 20 million options were exercised.
The confidence in the company’s direction is reflected in the actions of its board. Directors Russell Barwick and Robert Rutherford each exercised over 1 million options at a rate of $0.13 per share on October 29, significantly increasing their shareholdings. Rutherford now holds over 14.9 million shares, underscoring the board’s commitment to the company’s growth.
At the Pulkarrimarra project, located in the Paterson province, drilling is focused on the high-priority gold target known as YE02, situated along strike from Rio Tinto’s Winu discovery. The geological assessment suggests that this target features a large, high-resistivity characteristic likely indicative of gold-copper mineralization, similar to what is observed at Winu.
Simultaneously, the Pardoo project is undergoing exploration of separate magnetic targets within the Hemi structural corridor. Red Metal has completed its initial reverse-circulation drill program on two proof-of-concept targets, with drill chips logged and sampled for analysis.
Beyond its immediate projects, Red Metal holds a notable 35.8 percent stake in Maronan Metals, which recently announced a robust Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) regarding its shallow Starter Zone. Maronan possesses two ore bodies, each containing approximately 30 million tonnes near Cloncurry, Queensland. Red Metal’s investment in Maronan translates to an asset valued at about A$27.4 million, solidifying its financial footing in the exploration sector.
As Red Metal advances its Sybella rare earths project, it is systematically steering toward a scoping study scheduled for 2026. The company is focused on maintaining capital discipline while exploring modern comminution methods and innovative ion exchange resin tests to define a low-capital, low-operating-cost heap leach processing option. Large column leach test work is slated to commence in mid-November 2025, with results expected in the new year.
For further information on Red Metal Ltd’s developments, please reach out to [email protected].
