West Cobar Metals (ASX: WC1) has identified promising high-grade scandium drill targets at its Salazar project, alongside metallurgical testwork indicating potential for lower-cost scandium production via atmospheric leaching and bioleaching.
- Salazar hosts 15Mt inferred resource at 153ppm Sc2O3
- High-grade scandium intercepts up to 649ppm identified
- Atmospheric acid leaching achieves up to 81% scandium recovery
- Bioleaching shows selective scandium extraction up to 39%
- Project includes rare earths, titanium dioxide, gallium, alumina
High-Grade Scandium Zones Emerge at Salazar
West Cobar Metals has sharpened its focus on scandium at the Salazar Critical Minerals project in Western Australia, revealing multiple high-grade drill targets within an inferred resource of 15 million tonnes at 153ppm Sc2O3. Notably, recent drilling returned standout intercepts such as 3 metres at 649ppm scandium oxide from just 10 metres depth, underscoring potential for richer zones within the broader saprolite-hosted deposit.
The Newmont deposit, a key part of Salazar, was originally drilled on a 500m by 100m grid designed for rare earth elements and titanium dioxide. West Cobar plans a tighter 100m by 50m aircore drilling campaign to delineate and extend these higher-grade scandium zones, aiming to convert promising early results into a more defined resource footprint.
Encouraging Testwork Points to Low-Cost Processing
What sets Salazar apart is the potential for a lower-cost scandium production route. Unlike many global scandium projects reliant on energy-intensive high-pressure and high-temperature processing, Salazar’s shallow saprolite mineralisation responds well to atmospheric-pressure acid leaching. Metallurgical trials at Nagrom laboratories achieved up to 81% scandium recovery using hydrochloric acid at moderate temperatures (95°C), a promising sign for simpler, less capital-intensive extraction methods.
Complementing this, preliminary bioleaching conducted by BiotaTec in Estonia demonstrated selective scandium extraction up to 39% over 27 days under heap-leach style conditions, with scandium recovery notably exceeding that of rare earth elements. This biological approach could further reduce processing costs and environmental footprint, with CSIRO now engaged to optimise and scale-up these bioleaching techniques.
Strategic Positioning Amid Rising Scandium Demand
Scandium’s strategic value is climbing rapidly due to its applications in defence, aerospace, solid oxide fuel cells, and semiconductors. West Cobar highlights tightening Chinese export controls and competitor feasibility studies, such as Sunrise Energy Metals’, which underscore the need for secure Western supply chains. Salazar’s multi-commodity profile; including rare earth elements, titanium dioxide, gallium, and alumina; adds further commercial appeal, offering multiple product streams from a single operation.
Managing Director Matt Szwedzicki emphasised that ongoing metallurgical optimisation could position Salazar as a lower capital cost scandium development, simultaneously producing critical co-products. The company is advancing a scoping study and pre-feasibility study pathway, integrating scandium and rare earth processing flowsheets, with further drilling and metallurgical results expected in coming months.
Next Steps and Funding Outlook
West Cobar is currently progressing leach testwork at ANSTO and bioleaching trials at CSIRO, alongside planned drilling to refine higher-grade scandium zones. The company is also engaged in US funding and offtake discussions, reflecting the geopolitical importance of critical minerals supply. These developments follow West Cobar’s recent expansion into the US fluorspar market, further diversifying its critical minerals portfolio.
Bottom Line?
Salazar’s combination of high-grade scandium targets and promising low-cost recovery methods could carve out a competitive niche in the tightening global scandium market, but upcoming drilling and metallurgical results will be pivotal.
Questions in the middle?
- Will the upcoming drilling confirm and expand the identified high-grade scandium zones?
- Can bioleaching be scaled commercially to complement atmospheric acid leaching at Salazar?
- How will West Cobar’s funding and offtake negotiations influence the project’s development timeline?