Iltani Resources Limited (ASX: ILT), an ASX-listed company focused on exploring for base metals and critical minerals. The company holds a portfolio of advanced exploration projects in Queensland and Tasmania. On 17 July 2026, Iltani announced the successful first-pass ore sorting test work results from its Orient Silver-Indium Project in Herberton, North Queensland. Initial TOMRA X-ray Transmission (XRT) ore sorting on samples has demonstrated excellent upgrade factors, confirming the mineralisation’s amenability to this processing method and indicating potential for optimising future processing operations.
The tests involved screening high-grade and low-grade RC chip samples, specifically the 6–25 mm fraction, for XRT sorting. The high-grade sample (Run 01) achieved a 58% mass rejection, yielding an average upgrade factor of 2.1 times for key metals including silver, indium, lead, and zinc. More impressively, the low-grade sample (Run 02) demonstrated a 96% mass rejection and an average upgrade factor of 13.2 times for these same metals. For instance, silver rose from 26 g/t to 325 g/t and indium from 27 g/t to 437 g/t in the low-grade material. The successful sorting is attributed to the strong density contrast between the sulphide mineralisation and the siliceous host rock.
Iltani’s Managing Director, Donald Garner, commented that the results “clearly demonstrate that ore sorting works, and works well,” particularly highlighting the significant upgrades observed in the low-grade sample. He noted that removing a substantial proportion of waste prior to milling could offer significant benefits for the Orient project, including potential reductions in upfront capital costs for processing plants and tailings storage, alongside lower operating costs. Following this proof-of-concept, Iltani plans a seven-hole PQ diamond drilling program to generate samples for comprehensive, larger-scale bulk sorting test work.
