EV Resources puts first antimony ore through Tecomatlán crusher

Tecomatlán receives first antimony ore

EV Resources Ltd (ASX:EVR) has reached the most tangible stage yet of its Tecomatlán strategy: antimony ore is on site, the crusher is running and crushed fines are accumulating ahead of grinding. The company says 200 metric tons sourced from the Chinantla antimony operation have been delivered to the Mexican processing plant, marking the start of live proof-of-concept operations.

That is a meaningful change from plant integration and laboratory testwork, but it is not commercial production. Crushing and screening are now underway, with fines being stockpiled for the grinding circuit while oversize material is returned for re-crushing. Deliveries of ore are continuing.

Front-end plant work clears the way

EVR completed a mechanical inspection and maintenance program before feeding antimony ore into the crushing circuit. The work included servicing bearings, replacing drive belts, checking gearbox oil, tightening fasteners and cleaning the primary feeder box.

The company also removed conveyors and dust collectors left over from the plant’s former barite operations and demolished an adjacent concrete-block wall to make room for the crushed-ore stockpile. Recent rainfall had damaged the access road, which has since been rehabilitated to allow haulage to continue. EVR said no safety incidents were reported during the works and that the site team had passed 3,000 hours without a lost-time injury.

Grinding and flotation are the next test

With the front end operating, the remaining proof-of-concept sequence is straightforward on paper: build the fines stockpile, upgrade the grinding and flotation circuits, run the crushed ore through grinding, flotation and gravity concentration, then dry and assay the resulting concentrate.

EVR estimates about 2.5 weeks to complete the grinding and flotation upgrades, up to two weeks for processing and another two weeks to produce a dry concentrate and obtain assay certificates. It is targeting a product above 45% antimony, but describes the timetable as indicative and gives no certainty that a marketable grade will be achieved or that any concentrate will be sold on commercial terms.

Bench-scale results face plant-scale scrutiny

The company points to earlier metallurgical work showing antimony recoveries of 81.1% for Chinantla and up to 78.6% for Vinatas, including a 68.3% antimony concentrate from Vinatas material. Those results were preliminary, laboratory bench-scale tests rather than operating-plant results, so the Tecomatlán campaign is intended to establish whether the processing model performs at scale.

There is also a feedstock distinction worth keeping in view: the ore now being processed comes from a third-party operation in which EVR has no ownership interest, and EVR has not estimated a Mineral Resource or Ore Reserve for that source. The immediate measure of progress will therefore be the grade, recovery and repeatability of the concentrate produced, rather than the simple fact that ore has entered the crusher.