Arkadian Strategic Metals Plc (LSE:AKN) has reported initial metallurgical results from its Motzfeldt Critical Metals Project in Greenland, where testing successfully produced rare earth concentrates using established mineral processing techniques.
The company also confirmed the completion of underground sampling at its wholly owned Clogau-St David’s Gold Mine in north Wales, including the collection of 29 vein samples and approximately 1.5 tonnes of historic mine floor material.
The developments advance exploration and processing studies across both projects, with further metallurgical testing planned at Motzfeldt and laboratory analysis underway for the Clogau samples.
Motzfeldt Tests Produce Rare Earth Concentrate Grading 13.37%
The first phase of metallurgical testing at the majority-owned Motzfeldt project focused on the Aries deposit, which contains a JORC-compliant Inferred Mineral Resource of 340 million tonnes.
Tests conducted by specialist metallurgical contractors in South Africa demonstrated that rare earth and zirconium-bearing minerals could be separated from the surrounding rock using conventional processing methods.
The strongest preliminary flotation result increased the total rare earth oxide (TREO) grade from approximately 0.65% in the original material to 13.37% in the resulting concentrate.
This represented an enrichment of approximately 20 times the original grade, with TREO recovery of 20.3% from a single, unoptimised flotation stage.
Other flotation tests achieved higher recovery rates but produced lower-grade concentrates, indicating that processing conditions influence the balance between concentrate quality and mineral recovery.
The company conducted eight preliminary flotation tests using four different reagent chemistries.
Gravity Separation Recovers Rare Earths and Zirconium
Gravity separation testing also produced concentrates containing rare earths and zirconium.
Within the finer particle fraction, measuring between 45 and 150 micrometres, the process generated a concentrate grading 2.24% TREO and 12.2% zirconium oxide.
Recovery rates within this fraction reached 39.9% for TREO and 59.1% for zirconium oxide.
Mineralogical analysis indicated that finer grinding improved the separation of target minerals from the host rock, identifying particle size reduction as a priority for subsequent testing.
Magnetic separation contributed relatively little to mineral recovery under the conditions examined.
Arkadian emphasised that the Phase 1 results relate to a single selected bulk sample and do not yet establish recoveries across the wider Aries deposit.
Phase 2 to Target Higher Recoveries and Additional Metals
Following the initial results, Arkadian’s technical advisers have designed a second phase of metallurgical testing focused on improving mineral recovery and concentrate grades.
The programme will investigate finer grinding, enhanced gravity separation and refined flotation conditions, including additional recovery and concentrate-cleaning stages.
It will also examine the integration of gravity separation and flotation into a combined processing route.
Further work will track target minerals through individual processing stages to identify opportunities to reduce losses and improve efficiency.
Alongside rare earths and zirconium, Phase 2 will assess the potential recovery of niobium and tantalum.
George Frangeskides, Executive Chairman of Arkadian Strategic Metals, said the initial findings provided a starting point for developing a processing route.
“These first phase metallurgical test work results from the Aries deposit at Motzfeldt show that the rare earth minerals in the tested sample can be separated from the host rock and concentrated using established processing methods,” Frangeskides said.
He added that the next phase would concentrate on finer grinding and combined gravity and flotation processing to improve recovery and concentrate quality.
Clogau Gold Mine Completes 29-Sample Exploration Programme
At the Clogau-St David’s Gold Mine in north Wales, Arkadian has completed sampling of the exposed Jack Williams vein at the western end of the historically worked Main Lode.
The programme collected 29 samples from the Upper Tyn y Cornel level for laboratory gold assays and thin-section mineralogical analysis.
The results will be used to assess gold content, mineral composition and geological characteristics within this section of the Main Lode.
The findings are expected to inform the selection of additional underground exploration targets along the mineralised structure.
The Main Lode was historically responsible for most of the gold produced at Clogau.
Approximately 1.5 Tonnes of Historic Mine Material Collected
Arkadian has also completed systematic excavation of floor material surrounding Shaft 2 on the Tyn y Cornel adit level.
The work followed earlier sampling and hand-panning that identified particles believed to be visible gold in material left behind during historic mining activities.
Excavation was carried out in one-square-metre sections down to bedrock, resulting in the collection of approximately 1.5 tonnes of material.
The material is scheduled for processing through the company’s pilot plant to assess the potential recovery of gold from historic mine deposits.
Additional floor material and hard rock samples have been collected from the eastern and western sections of Upper Tyn y Cornel.
These samples are also scheduled for processing, with results intended to guide decisions on the treatment of further material from the mine.
Outlook
Arkadian Strategic Metals is progressing parallel programmes at its Greenland critical metals project and Welsh gold operation.
At Motzfeldt, the next stage will focus on improving rare earth and zirconium recovery while evaluating niobium and tantalum through an integrated processing approach.
The initial results demonstrate that concentrates can be produced from the tested Aries material, although further work is required to establish overall processing recoveries and concentrate specifications suitable for downstream refining.
At Clogau, the company is awaiting laboratory results from the Jack Williams vein samples and preparing to process historic floor material through its pilot plant.
Arkadian expects to provide further updates as results become available from both projects.
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