QMC advances Irgon with metallurgical testing

Monument and plaque marking the historic Irgon lithium mine in Manitoba. (Image: QMC -Quantum Minerals)

Vancouver-based QMC Quantum Minerals is arranging for SGS Canada to conduct metallurgical tests on samples from its Irgon lithium project in the southeast part of the province. The property lies within the Cat Lake-Winnipeg River rare element pegmatite field.

Testing will be designed to produce a saleable concentrate in a three-stage process. The sample will undergo dense media separation (DMS) and the removal of magnetic material, leaving behind a lithium concentrate. The concentrate will then be upgraded in a flotation circuit to produce the final product.

The original Irgon lithium mine operated briefly in the mid-1950s, leaving behind a historical (non-43-101 compliant) resource of 1.2 million tonnes of ore grading 1.51% lithium dioxide over a strike length of 365 metres to a depth of 213 metres.

This story first appeared on Canadian Mining Journal.