PMM – Pioneer Minerals Limited
Springfield Historic Tailings Deliver 3.27% WO₃ Concentrate with 17.6x Tungsten Upgrade in Preliminary Test work
Highlights
• Strong Tungsten Grade Upgrade Demonstrated: Preliminary metallurgical beneficiation test work undertaken by Mineral Technologies on composite material collected from historic tailings at the Springfield Tungsten Mine demonstrates the ability to materially upgrade tungsten grades by a factor of up to 17.6 times relative to the composite head grade.
• High-Grade Tungsten Concentrate Produced via Gravity Separation: Mozley gravity table testing produced concentrates grading up to 25,942 ppm W (~3.27% WO₃) demonstrating the potential to generate high grade tungsten using conventional gravity separation methods widely applied across global tungsten operations.
• Heavy Liquid Separation Confirms Dense Tungsten Mineral Phases: Heavy liquid separation produced a dense mineral sink fraction grading 9,060 ppm W (~1.14% WO₃), representing an upgrade factor of more than five times relative to the composite head grade. This confirms tungsten within the Springfield material occurs in high-density mineral phases amenable to gravity-based separation.
• Size-by-Assay Analysis Identifies Tungsten Enrichment in Fine Fractions: Size-by-assay analysis shows progressive tungsten enrichment from coarse to fine fractions, peaking at 3,230 ppm W (~0.407% WO₃), nearly double the composite head grade of 1,700 ppm W (~0.214% WO₃). This trend indicates tungsten minerals are preferentially concentrated in finer particle size fractions.
• Metallurgical Insights for the Broader North Pine Project: Testing of historic tailings provides valuable insight into the behaviour of fine-grained tungsten mineralisation within the Springfield system, supporting metallurgical evaluation of potential future exploration discoveries across the North Pine Project.
• Results Support Ongoing Metallurgical Recovery Program: These preliminary beneficiation results confirm that tungsten within the Springfield tailings material can be materially upgraded using conventional mineral processing techniques, supporting the ongoing metallurgical recovery test work program currently underway with Mineral Technologies
• North Pine Project, Near Term Work Program
➢ Clearing and reopening the historic Springfield Mine access road to improve site access and enable future exploration and drilling activities.
➢ Completion of an electromagnetic (EM) geophysical survey to identify conductive zones potentially associated with massive sulphide mineralisation linked to tungsten mineralisation.
➢ Preparation and submission of applications for potential United States Government funding programs, including Department of Defence initiatives supporting domestic critical mineral supply chains.
➢ Submission of a Notice of Intent and Plan of Operations to support permitting of Phase 1 drilling at the Springfield Prospect.
