Ironveld (AIM:IRON) on Wednesday told investors it has identified rare earth and phosphate mineralisation at its Layer 21 deposit, alongside an update showing its DMS plant has lifted throughput to around 90% of design capacity, even as the company flagged a working capital position covering only around two months of operations.
The AIM-listed mining development company, which produces dense media separation (DMS) grade magnetite at its Lapon Plant in South Africa's Bushveld Igneous Complex, said core samples from Layer 21 returned between 858 and 1,543 parts per million total rare earth oxides (TREO), with neodymium and praseodymium oxides making up approximately 25% of that total.
Mineralogical work by Mintek, South Africa's national mineral research organisation, confirmed the presence of vanadiferous titaniferous magnetite, titanomagnetite, ilmenite and apatite in the Layer 21 cores, supporting evaluation of a flowsheet targeting rare earth recovery alongside commercial magnetite, ilmenite and apatite concentrates.
Layer 21 is a magnetite-bearing horizon within Ironveld's mining rights, outcropping to the west of the company's Main Magnetite Layer; the company's internal assessment points to potential mineralised tonnage of approximately 200 million tonnes, though it stressed this is a conceptual figure, not a defined Mineral Resource or Reserve.
Geochemical assays from two boreholes, drilled 2km apart to a depth of 100m, returned mineralised intersections of 15 metres grading 48.74% Fe2O3, 8.11% TiO2 and 6.35% P2O5 in one hole, and 23 metres at 45.82% Fe2O3, 7.47% TiO2 and 5.83% P2O5 in the other.
Ironveld said a strong correlation between phosphate and rare earth grades across the samples supports an association between the mineralisation and apatite, with further metallurgical work needed to assess recoverability.
The company cited phosphate grades at Foskor's Phalaborwa deposits and Rainbow Rare Earths' tailings project at the same site as regional context, while cautioning that differences in mineralogy and processing mean equivalent recoveries cannot be assumed for Layer 21.
Next steps include metallurgical testing of the conceptual flowsheet, further geological work to define an exploration target, and evaluation of downstream processing routes and partners for rare earth recovery from apatite; Ironveld said it expects to fund this work from revenues generated by the existing DMS plant.
On operations, feed throughput at the Lapon Plant has reached approximately 4.5 tonnes per hour, up from the 2.5 to 3.5 tonnes per hour reported in July, representing around 90% of the plant's 5 tonnes-per-hour design rate.
Particle size distribution is not yet fully consistent across production batches, though the company said technical feedback from major international coal producers has confirmed test samples meet their acceptance ranges.
Discussions with three prospective counterparties are progressing towards supply agreements, supported by positive feedback from a major international coal producer, while a further customer has confirmed its intention to place a 100-tonne bulk testing order, with a formal purchase order and payment still awaited.
Read more about Ironveld
- 14/07/26Ironveld DMS plant hits sustained production, adds maghemite revenue potential
- 29/04/26Ironveld shares slumped on DMS shipments timeline
Deliveries under Ironveld's existing supply contract are temporarily on hold after the customer encountered technical difficulties commissioning its processing plant, with the plant operator stockpiling material in the interim pending resumption.
The company said the temporary halt on sales, combined with slower than anticipated progress concluding new supply agreements, has affected its working capital position. The board meanwhile confirmed that Ironveld has sufficient working capital to meet its needs for approximately two months.
Ironveld said it is evaluating several well-advanced external funding solutions and has received indications from existing shareholders that additional funding is available.
"The rare earths and Phosphate discovery at Layer 21 adds an important new dimension to Ironveld's asset base," said chief executive Kris Andersson, adding that throughput "is now reaching approximately 90% of design capacity" but that "we still have work to do to achieve consistent performance."
Andersson said the company's immediate priorities are to convert customer interest into contracted sales, resume deliveries to its existing customer once its plant is ready, and improve production consistency.