Hawsons Iron Ltd (ASX:HIO) has released a revised announcement detailing highly encouraging results from bulk-scale elutriation testwork on magnetite concentrate from its Hawsons Iron Project. Hawsons Iron Limited is an Australian company focused on the development of the Hawsons Iron Project, aiming to produce a premium, very-high-grade magnetite concentrate. The testwork confirmed the potential to produce a premium iron ore concentrate grading above 69% iron, demonstrating a significant upgrade in product quality and purity. This outcome reinforces the company’s strategic positioning within a changing global steel industry.
The bulk-scale elutriation testwork successfully upgraded the Hawsons concentrate sample from an initial feed grade of 67.8% Fe to a higher post-elutriation grade of 69.3% Fe. This process also achieved substantial reductions in key gangue components, with silica (SiO2) decreasing by approximately 39% from 4.04% to 2.48%, and alumina (Al2O3) reducing by about 28% from 0.40% to 0.29%. Importantly, phosphorus levels remained exceptionally low at 0.006% in the final product. These results reinforce the premium characteristics of Hawsons’ potential product and support the inclusion of elutriation in the Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) process flowsheet, potentially enhancing the project’s revenue stream.
Hawsons Managing Director Tom Revy stated that these results validate the exceptional quality of the Hawsons orebody and the company’s ability to produce the high-quality iron ore concentrate increasingly sought by the global steel industry. Mr Revy highlighted that a relatively straightforward physical separation process significantly boosts iron grade while reducing impurities, which is crucial as the steel industry prioritises productivity, energy efficiency, and emissions reduction. The company plans further refinement of elutriation operating conditions during the final Feasibility Study to maximise product quality, recovery, and overall project economics, without requiring a corresponding increase in mine production.
