EV Resources Starts Crushing Ore at Tecomatlán as Antimony POC Plant Trial Begins
Key Takeaways
- EV Resources has commenced crushing and screening at Tecomatlán, with the first 200 metric tons of antimony ore delivered from the Chinantla Antimony operation under binding supply arrangements.
- Prior metallurgical testwork delivered 81.1% Sb recovery for Chinantla ore and up to 78.6% Sb recovery with a 68.3% Sb concentrate grade for Vinatas ore — the POC campaign is designed to replicate these results at operating scale.
- The remaining POC milestone sequence spans approximately 6.5 weeks: grinding and flotation circuit upgrades (~2.5 weeks), processing run (up to 2 weeks), and concentrate production with assay certificates (further 2 weeks), targeting >45% Sb grade.
- The operations team has surpassed 3,000 hours without a Lost Time Injury, with daily safety briefings and Job Safety Analyses in place across all site works.
- A successful POC campaign would position Tecomatlán as a regional processing hub, opening the pathway to commercial feedstock agreements and concentrate offtake discussions — antimony holds critical mineral designation in the US, EU, and Australia.
Crushing commences at Tecomatlán as EVR enters live POC operations
EV Resources (ASX: EVR) has moved from plant integration into live processing operations at its Tecomatlán Processing Plant in Mexico. The first 200 metric tons of antimony ore have been delivered to site, crushing and screening are underway, and a stockpile of crushed fines is accumulating ready for the grinding circuit.
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What is a Proof-of-Concept campaign and why does it matter?
A Proof-of-Concept (POC) processing campaign is essentially a full-scale trial run. Rather than testing ore in a laboratory, EVR is now running real ore through the actual plant circuits at Tecomatlán, including crushing, grinding, flotation, and gravity concentration, to demonstrate it can produce a marketable antimony concentrate at operating scale.
The distinction matters because lab results and plant-scale results are not the same thing. EVR’s prior metallurgical testwork delivered strong numbers: 81.1% Sb recovery for Chinantla ore and up to 78.6% Sb recovery with a 68.3% Sb concentrate grade for Vinatas ore. The POC campaign is designed to apply the processing routes established through that testwork to process third-party regional ore sourced from the Chinantla Antimony operation under existing supply arrangements.
For investors, POC de-risks the processing model in a meaningful way. A successful campaign demonstrates that Tecomatlán can function as a regional processing hub, which is the gateway to commercial feedstock agreements and concentrate offtake discussions. It converts a technical thesis into a demonstrated, operating reality.
The announcement includes a cautionary note that there is no certainty the campaign will produce a concentrate of marketable grade, or that any concentrate produced will be sold on commercial terms.
What’s been completed on the ground
The site team has executed an intensive programme of works to bring the plant to this point:
- First 200 metric tons of antimony ore delivered and stockpiled at the crushing yard, sourced from the Chinantla Antimony operation
- Full mechanical inspection and maintenance of the crushing circuit completed, covering greasing of all bearings, replacement of drive belts, gearbox oil checks, retightening of all bolts and fasteners, and cleaning of the primary feeder box
- Crushing commenced; screen separation of fines and oversize is underway, with crushed fines stockpiling ready for the grinding circuit
- Legacy barite conveyor belts and dust collectors removed, and an adjacent concrete-block wall demolished, clearing the area for the crushed-ore stockpile
- Access road to the plant rehabilitated following recent rainfall damage; haulage trucks are now delivering ore uninterrupted
- Safety programme in place across all works: daily briefings, Job Safety Analyses, and equipment pre-start checklists; the operations team has surpassed 3,000 hours without a Lost Time Injury (LTI)
Binding ore supply arrangements with Chinantla counterparties underpin the feedstock certainty required to execute the POC campaign, converting the supply chain from an operational assumption into a contracted input stream before crushing commenced.
Miguel Barahona, Interim CEO, EV Resources
“Seeing the first trucks of antimony ore tip at the Tecomatlán crushing yard is a moment the whole team has been working towards. After months of metallurgical testwork and plant integration, we now have ore on the ground, a crushing circuit that has been fully serviced and is now running, and a growing stockpile of crushed fines ready to go into the mill.
These are the practical, physical steps that take a processing plant from paper to production. Every one of them brings us closer to the milestone that matters most to our shareholders – the production of EVR’s first antimony concentrate…”
Pathway to first antimony concentrate
With crushing underway, the company has outlined the remaining steps in the POC campaign and provided indicative timing for each. This gives investors a concrete near-term catalyst sequence to track:
- Continue crushing and screening to build the crushed-fines stockpile ahead of the grinding circuit
- Continue ore deliveries to Tecomatlán to support the processing campaign
- Upgrade grinding and flotation circuits (approximately 2.5 weeks)
- Introduce crushed fines to grinding, flotation, and gravity circuits (up to 2 weeks of processing)
- Produce dry concentrate and obtain assay certificates (further 2 weeks), targeting a grade of >45% Sb
- Progress regional feedstock arrangements and concentrate offtake discussions to support ongoing plant utilisation beyond the POC campaign
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EVR’s North American antimony strategy
The Tecomatlán milestone is one piece of a broader integrated asset platform EVR is building across North America.
| Asset | Location | Role in Strategy |
|---|---|---|
| Tecomatlán Processing Plant | Mexico | Regional processing hub; POC underway |
| Los Lirios Antimony Project | Mexico (~50km from Tecomatlán) | Future proprietary feed source; maiden JORC resource in progress |
| Dollar & Milton Projects | Nevada, USA | Direct US critical minerals exposure |
Antimony holds critical mineral designation in the US, EU, and Australia, with applications spanning energy storage, battery technology, and defence, making the Tecomatlán processing milestone relevant well beyond the company’s immediate operational progress.
For readers interested in the geological scale behind EVR’s future proprietary feed source, our deep-dive into the Los Lirios CRD system discovery covers the structural controls and mineralisation model that underpin the maiden JORC resource currently in progress at the project approximately 50km from Tecomatlán.
Ready to Track EVR’s Progress Towards Its First Antimony Concentrate?
EV Resources is now in live processing operations at Tecomatlán, with crushing underway and a clear milestone sequence mapped out — from grinding circuit upgrades through to a target concentrate grade of >45% Sb.
Follow the full story and assess the investment case by exploring EVR’s Tecomatlán POC campaign on Discovery Alert, where project updates, resource detail, and company announcements are consolidated for investors.