Surefire Resources (ASX:SRN) Reports High-Grade Magnetite Concentrate at Victory Bore Project

Highlights

• Advanced metallurgical testing on a 700kg bulk sample has resulted in a higher-grade and purer magnetite concentrate.
• Vanadium concentrate averaged 1.489% V₂O₅, showing a 14.5% improvement over the PFS and iron grade averaged 61.68% Fe, a 15% increase from the PFS.
• The concentrate has low levels of deleterious elements, ensuring high efficiency in downstream processing and the production of high-purity products.
• The magnetite concentrate is ready for shipment to selected international partners.

Surefire Resources NL (ASX:SRN) has announced that advanced metallurgical testing on a 700kg bulk sample has produced a higher-grade and purer magnetite concentrate from ore material at its Victory Bore Critical Minerals Project in Western Australia. The company’s update highlights that the results further confirm Victory Bore as a world-class project in terms of size, grade, and purity for critical mineral products.

Metallurgical test work results

The company initiated the metallurgical test work after engaging with international parties interested in evaluating the Victory Bore concentrate, following the positive outcomes of the Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) conducted on the project.

As part of the metallurgical testing program, approximately 700kg of bulk sample underwent crushing, grinding, and Low Intensity Magnetic Separation (LIMS) at Nagrom Laboratories in Perth to separate the material into magnetic and non-magnetic fractions.

The magnetic fraction, which is being prepared for shipment to downstream processing plants, yielded exceptionally clean concentrate results.

The vanadium concentrate grade averaged 1.489% V₂O₅, a 14.5% improvement over the 1.3% V₂O₅ used in the PFS. Similarly, the iron grade averaged 61.68% Fe, reflecting a 15% increase from the 53.66% Fe used in the PFS.

These results demonstrated that most of the vanadium was recovered in the magnetic fraction, which is critical for downstream processing and indicates that high recoveries from the magnetite concentrate can be achieved to produce high-grade final products such as vanadium pentoxide flake, ferro-vanadium, and high purity vanadium electrolyte.

Additionally, titanium grades averaged 18.525% TiO₂, presenting an opportunity for further refinement into high-grade titanium concentrate that could be suitable for titanium pigment and metal production plants, supporting the company’s strategy to develop a titanium feedstock.

The assay results also confirmed significantly low levels of deleterious elements, including CaO, MgO, MnO, K₂O, Na₂O₃, SiO₂, Al₂O₃, P, and S. These elements can impact downstream processing and the ability to produce high-purity products.

The company has confirmed that high-quality magnetite concentrate is ready for shipment to selected international partners for technical evaluation. Additionally, the results will be shared with interested companies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) as part of the company’s broader strategy to develop downstream processing operations in KSA.

SRN shares were trading at AU$0.003 per share at the time of writing on 19 February 2025.