Everest secures extraction IP before chasing WA rubidium deals

Critical and precious metals explorer Everest Metals Corporation has locked away intellectual property rights for an initial one-year for its innovative direct rubidium extraction recovery process, with the successful filing of a provisional patent application.

The direct extraction process aims to extract the critical mineral in a more cost-effective and environmentally friendly manner from the ore mined at the company’s Mt Edon critical mineral project.

The provisional patent application lodged with IP Australia resulted from research work conducted by Edith Cowan University’s Mineral Recovery Research Centre (MRRC).

Everest engaged the highly respected university’s mineral research arm in February last year to help it develop an innovative rubidium extraction process.

Management believes the patent application validates the success of its new-age technological process and sets the stage for continued discussions with potential offtake partners.

The MRRC’s 12-month research project initially involved a small-scale lab using several cutting-edge methods and focused on direct extraction technology to maximise rubidium recovery.

The process steps include purification and refining leading to the conversion of the mineral into a final product, such as rubidium salts and rubidium metal.

By securing the IP rights to the extraction process, Everest is now in command of new technology that provides a superior recovery level to existing processes and generates a much more environmentally friendly processing pathway.

The company has one year under the provisional patent process to apply for full patent protection, providing the company with useful additional time to research and further develop its processing technology.

Existing testwork has demonstrated higher recoveries of both critical minerals rubidium and lithium from the Mt Edon ore, . The company recently revealed recovery rates up to 91 per cent rubidium from MRRC’s processing.

Submitting the patent for the processing flowsheet marks an important milestone for Everest and the development of the Mt Edon critical minerals project. This achievement of a viable process flowsheet to extract rubidium paves the way for progressing commercial and operating engineering studies as well as continuing discussions with potential offtake partners.

The company’s Mt Edon project in WA’s Mid West region comprises an inferred mineral resource of 3.6 million tonnes at 0.22pc rubidium oxide and 0.07pc lithium oxide.

Management says the resource contains a “world-class” tier-1 component of 1.3 million tonnes at 0.33pc rubidium oxide and 0.07pc lithium oxide. The high-grade zone contains 56pc of the total contained rubidium tonnes at Mt Edon, consisting of 7900 tonnes of the in-demand critical mineral.

Everest is continuing to work on its engineering scoping study, a high-level techno-economic analysis for the rubidium destruction process, focusing on capital expenditure and operational expenditure for Mt Edon.

It says it will continue with work to improve the purification process with plans to transition to a bench-scale set up. The change will enable the optimisation of critical processing parameters and contribute to a more comprehensive and effective purification process.

The price of rubidium has been steady of late at about US$1200 (A$1908) per kilogram.

Rubidium has many high-technology applications and is listed as one of 35 critical minerals by several countries, including the United States and Japan.

It is used in new communication and energy-conversion technologies, defence and military applications such as night-vision imaging, radiation detectors, radio electronic tubes and military infrared signal lights, and in the aerospace sector in ion-propulsion engines, fibre-optic communications and energy power generation.

Everest holds a 51pc stake in Mt Edon with the potential to take over the entire operation in a joint venture farm-in agreement with private company Entelechy Resources.

The company is pursuing critical and precious metals across four WA-based projects. With continued improvements to Mt Edon’s potential to provide critical rubidium supply in the future, the project may rise to the top of Everest’s project mountain.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@wanews.com.au