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and Creasy Group are among the major also being heavily involved
shareholders – will interpret the structural in battery recycling, running
information at hand and stay the course pilot plant activities.
with the company for the journey. “We have almost finished
“Day traders are an integral part of the the lithium recycling pilot
market because they provide the liquidity and we’ve finished the ti-
on which the market relies,” Wilson said. tanium pilot. We will have
“The day traders look at those grades a fair few results out in the
and say: ‘Is that all?’ The true believers next couple of months, a
look at some of the structural stuff, coupled couple of pilot plant results,
with higher grade that we have already got drill results from the nickel
there and say: ‘These blokes could really and we’ll have a Class 4
be onto something and I’m happy to keep engineering study for the
playing this game’.” zeolites,” Reed said.
While the market is hard to please, Leg- Neometals recently an-
end has peers in the field that are sympa- nounced the Innovative
thetic to its ambitions. Manufacturing CRC (IM-
“Who else is finding the big new nickel CRC) agreed to co-fund
sulphide deposits?” Neometals’ Reed a $2.57 million collabora-
asked. tive research project with
“I think we are still at the bottom of the J Queensland University of
curve in demand for batteries. In five years Technology to set up a syn-
we could be sitting here having a conversa- thetic zeolite manufacturing
tion and those minerals could have a com- plant.
pletely different demand make up. It is a bit The pilot plant is aimed
like gold; you are getting a lot of consolida- at zeolite production from
tion, but who is making the massive green- waste products of Austral-
fields discoveries? We were used to 10-30 ian lithium production, with
moz gold deposits being found every cou- the potential for zeolite
ple of years by the majors, not anymore.” manufacture from lithium
Discovering nickel sulphide deposits is refinery residue to eliminate Mark Wilson
tougher than ever and while Reed is bullish waste disposal challenges from lithium re-
on Neometals’ prospects at Mt Edwards, fining.
his company isn’t totally leveraged to the A successful process could generate
nickel sector. significant co-product revenue, Neometals
Neometals is assessing opportunities to stated.
participate in India’s lithium sector, while – Mark Andrews Will Legend unearth the next world
class Tier 1 nickel sulphide deposit?

aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT FeBRUaRY 2020 Page 41