Positive Beneficiation Test Results from the Channel Sands in U3O8 Corp.'s Laguna Salada Uranium-Vanadium Deposit
Original announcement by tmx on
- Company
- U3O8 Corp.
- Ticker
- UWE
- Exchange
- TSX
- Region
- Chubut Province, Argentina
- Primary commodity
- Uranium
- Secondary commodities
- Vanadium
- Document categories
- Metallurgy
- Extracted
- 2026-09-12 07:57:55 UTC
Analysis by Minestarters Atlas
Minestarters Atlas analysis
Summary
U3O8 Corp. reported successful beneficiation test results for the Laguna Salada uranium-vanadium deposit. Screening the channel sands at 0.5mm allows for significant pre-concentration of metals while rejecting the majority of gypsum, which reduces reagent consumption.
Reasoning: Beneficiation tests confirmed that screening at 0.5mm can capture 88% of uranium and 76% of vanadium while rejecting 94% of gypsum, significantly improving the economic profile compared to the previous PEA model.
Positive factors
- successful pre-concentration of uranium and vanadium
- effective rejection of gypsum (reagent consumer)
- improved beneficiation profile compared to previous PEA gravel model
Negative factors
- high proportion of metals rejected in the finest fraction (<0.01mm) would reduce revenue
Facts used in scoring: 4
Classification and evidence
Mill Routeneutral
Processing via mill or concentrator (CIL, CIP, tank leach, flotation).
Why it applies: The test work involves scrubbing in a rotating drum and vibrating screens, which is a comminution/beneficiation step typical of a mill circuit.
Evidence · text
“the sand was scrubbed in a rotating drum for two minutes and was run through a set of vibrating stacked screens”
High Recoverypositive
Recovery at or above the exceptional band for the commodity and processing route.
Why it applies: The 0.5mm screening achieves 88% uranium recovery, which is high for a simple beneficiation step.
Evidence · text
“capturing 88% of the sand's uranium”
Multi-Domain Testedpositive
Variability across ore domains (oxide, transition, fresh) has been addressed.
Why it applies: 2 distinct composites were tested
Extracted facts
Stored fact records: 4. Some facts used in scoring do not have a stored record.
Metallurgical Results (4)
screeningLaguna Salada · uraniumRecovery: 88 %Head Grade: 1085Head Grade Unit: ppmView all detailsHide details
Identity
- Project
- Laguna Salada
- Commodity
- uranium
- Region
- argentina
- Reported Region
- Chubut Province, Argentina
- Ticker
- UWE
Test Work
- Program Status
- preliminary
- Test Type
- screening
- Processing Route
- screening at 0.5mm
- Sample
- raw sand from channel-fill sands
Recovery
- Recovery
- 88 %
- Recovery Basis
- actual_test
- Head Grade
- 1085
- Head Grade Unit
- ppm
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2018-06-27T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: High recovery of uranium (88%) achieved through simple screening.
Positive factors
- 88% uranium capture at 0.5mm
Evidence · text
“screening the sand at 0.5mm eliminates 94% of the sand's gypsum while capturing 88% of the sand's uranium”
screeningLaguna Salada · vanadiumRecovery: 76 %Head Grade: 610Head Grade Unit: ppmView all detailsHide details
Identity
- Project
- Laguna Salada
- Commodity
- vanadium
- Region
- argentina
- Reported Region
- Chubut Province, Argentina
- Ticker
- UWE
Test Work
- Program Status
- preliminary
- Test Type
- screening
- Processing Route
- screening at 0.5mm
- Sample
- raw sand from channel-fill sands
Recovery
- Recovery
- 76 %
- Recovery Basis
- actual_test
- Head Grade
- 610
- Head Grade Unit
- ppm
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2018-06-27T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: Strong vanadium recovery (76%) achieved through screening.
Positive factors
- 76% vanadium capture at 0.5mm
Evidence · text
“capturing 88% of the sand's uranium and 76% of its vanadium in only 67% of its original mass”
screeningLaguna Salada · uraniumRecovery: 50 %Head Grade: 1085Head Grade Unit: ppmView all detailsHide details
Identity
- Project
- Laguna Salada
- Commodity
- uranium
- Region
- argentina
- Reported Region
- Chubut Province, Argentina
- Ticker
- UWE
Test Work
- Program Status
- preliminary
- Test Type
- screening
- Processing Route
- scrubbing and screening (<0.01mm)
- Sample
- finest component of sand (<0.01mm)
Recovery
- Recovery
- 50 %
- Recovery Basis
- actual_test
- Head Grade
- 1085
- Head Grade Unit
- ppm
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2018-06-27T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: While 50% uranium is captured in the <0.01mm fraction, the high rejection rate of the remaining metal makes this specific fraction sub-optimal for revenue.
Negative factors
- high proportion of metals rejected along with the coarser component
Evidence · text
“50% of the uranium and 38% of its vanadium is concentrated into the finest component of the sand (less than 0.01mm diameter grains)”
screeningLaguna Salada · vanadiumRecovery: 38 %Head Grade: 610Head Grade Unit: ppmView all detailsHide details
Identity
- Project
- Laguna Salada
- Commodity
- vanadium
- Region
- argentina
- Reported Region
- Chubut Province, Argentina
- Ticker
- UWE
Test Work
- Program Status
- preliminary
- Test Type
- screening
- Processing Route
- scrubbing and screening (<0.01mm)
- Sample
- finest component of sand (<0.01mm)
Recovery
- Recovery
- 38 %
- Recovery Basis
- actual_test
- Head Grade
- 610
- Head Grade Unit
- ppm
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2018-06-27T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: Low vanadium recovery (38%) in the finest fraction.
Negative factors
- high proportion of metals rejected
Evidence · text
“50% of the uranium and 38% of its vanadium is concentrated into the finest component of the sand”
How Atlas produces this analysis
Minestarters Atlas uses automated extraction to summarize mining announcements, identify reported measurements, and classify supporting evidence. Sentiment reflects the extracted narrative and classification rules; it is an interpretation, not a reported measurement. Evidence quotes and context are provided where available. Missing data, low-confidence results, and review flags indicate limitations. Check the original publisher announcement before relying on an interpretation.