Black Canyon Advances High-Grade Manganese Upgrades at Wandanya

Pilot Scale Testwork Confirms High-Grade Manganese Concentrates

Black Canyon Limited (ASX:BCA) has delivered encouraging pilot scale Dense Media Separation (DMS) results from its Wandanya manganese project in Western Australia, upgrading manganese feed grades from around 29-32% Mn to concentrates as high as 41.0% Mn. The beneficiation testwork achieved manganese recoveries between 80% and 82% across two blended feed composites, demonstrating the mineralisation’s amenability to a simple, industry-standard dense media processing approach.

These findings reinforce the company’s confidence in the project’s potential to produce marketable manganese products with low impurities and strong recoveries, a key milestone as Black Canyon progresses towards feasibility. The pilot scale DMS trial builds on earlier heavy liquid separation (HLS) testwork and represents a significant step up in scale and operational relevance.

Blended Composites Yield Strong Grade and Recovery

Two 100kg blended composites were created from low, medium, and high-grade manganese oxide samples sourced from PQ3 diamond drill core. Blend 1, consisting of 20% low, 60% medium, and 20% high-grade material, upgraded from a 32.4% Mn feed to a 41.0% Mn concentrate at a 2.8 g/cm3 density, with an 82% manganese recovery. Blend 2, a mix of 25% low and 75% medium-grade feed, improved from 29.3% Mn to 38.5% Mn at the same density, achieving 80% recovery.

The densities selected for DMS align with those used at established Australian manganese operations such as Woodie Woodie and Groote Eylandt, suggesting the process is commercially relevant. The beneficiated products also exhibit low levels of penalty elements, enhancing their marketability.

Integration with Resource Expansion and Scoping Study

Black Canyon plans to apply these metallurgical outcomes to an upcoming Scoping Study scheduled for completion in the fourth quarter of 2026, examining a dual commodity operation involving direct shipping ore (DSO) iron, DSO manganese, and beneficiated manganese. The company is also preparing for a maiden Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) targeted for September 2026, with ongoing resource expansion drilling to the north and south of the Wandanya discovery set to resume in August.

The testwork results complement Black Canyon’s direct ship ore strategy, which targets DSO manganese products between 42% and 44% Mn to reduce operating costs and upgrade lower-grade material efficiently. Further metallurgical testwork is planned to optimise flowsheets and improve recoveries, particularly through additional processing of fines.

Exploration and Government Support Accelerate Development

Alongside metallurgical advances, Black Canyon has commenced a detailed gravity survey co-funded by the Western Australian Government’s Exploration Incentive Scheme, aiming to detect deeper manganese targets potentially linked to hydrothermal mineralisation. This survey supports the company’s broader exploration efforts in the Balfour Manganese Field, which hosts a substantial 315 million tonnes at 10.5% Mn global resource across its projects.

Black Canyon’s recent expansion drilling has extended high-grade manganese mineralisation over a 3km strike and confirmed the presence of high-grade iron mineralisation, bolstering the project’s scale and economic potential. These developments position Wandanya as a promising new manganese source amid tightening global supply dynamics.