Everlast Minerals Deploys Second Processing Platform to Scale Mineral Sands Output
Key Takeaways
- Everlast Minerals (ASX: EV8) has completed installation and commenced trial operations of a new spiral processing floating platform at its 100%-owned Gaibandha Heavy Minerals Mine in Bangladesh.
- The new platform is designed to materially increase potential processing throughput, improve mineral product quality, and provide greater production volume flexibility as the company scales toward commercialisation.
- Trial operations will generate material for further trial commercial exports to China, building directly on the company's previously completed successful zircon and ilmenite shipments.
- The platform design draws on operational learnings from Everlast's existing on-site spiral platform, reducing the technical risk typically associated with new processing infrastructure deployment.
- Near-term priorities include optimising processing parameters, training additional local employees, and evaluating trial results to inform the next stage of production scale-up.
New spiral platform marks capacity step-up at Gaibandha
Everlast Minerals (ASX: EV8) has completed the installation and deployment of a new spiral processing floating platform at its 100%-owned Gaibandha Heavy Minerals Mine project in Bangladesh. Trial operations have now commenced, with the platform expected to materially increase the company’s potential processing capacity.
This is a meaningful capacity addition rather than a first-of-its-kind achievement. The company is progressively scaling its operations toward potential commercialisation, and this new platform represents another concrete step in that build-out.
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The new platform was not designed from scratch. It draws directly on learnings gained through Everlast’s ongoing experience operating its existing spiral processing floating platform already on-site at Gaibandha, incorporating the processing and production insights accumulated to date. The company has also previously completed successful exports of zircon and ilmenite concentrate and ilmenite concentrate to China, establishing an early commercial pathway the trial program is intended to extend.
The first export shipment from Gaibandha established zircon and ilmenite as commercially viable outputs from the project, providing the proof-of-concept foundation that the current trial program is now building on.
The new platform is designed to improve across several dimensions:
- Processing capacity — a material increase in potential throughput is expected
- Product quality optimisation — improving the grade and specification of mineral sands output
- Production volume flexibility — greater ability to adjust volumes as operations scale
- Operational and safety procedures — strengthening procedures ahead of larger-scale production
- Workforce training and local employment — building the skills base required to support future scale-up
What is a spiral processing floating platform?
A spiral processing floating platform is a gravity-separation processing unit mounted on a floating barge-style structure. It allows mineral sands to be processed directly within water-based or fluvial (river and floodplain) mining environments, without requiring fixed onshore infrastructure.
Spiral concentrators work by feeding a slurry of sand and water down a helical (corkscrew-shaped) channel. Heavier mineral particles, such as zircon and ilmenite, settle toward the inner edge while lighter sand and waste are carried to the outer edge and discharged. No complex chemical processing is required, which keeps operating costs relatively low.
For Bangladesh’s fluvial environment, floating platforms are a practical fit. Everlast’s stated focus on the “Fluvial Environment for Sustainable Mineral Sands Mining” reflects the region’s river and floodplain geology, where a floating platform can access mineral-bearing sediments that a fixed land-based plant could not.
Trial operations: what the program is designed to achieve
The trial period serves two concurrent purposes. First, it allows Everlast’s technical team to optimise the new platform’s processing performance under real operating conditions, with a specific focus on improving the quality and quantity of mineral sands pilot production. Operating parameters will be progressively refined against current mineral sands market requirements and the specifications sought by potential customers.
Second, products generated during the trial are intended to support further trial commercial exports to market, building on the company’s prior successful exports to China. This creates a direct link between the ongoing development of Everlast’s processing operations and its engagement with mineral sands buyers.
Paul Qian, Executive Chairman
“The completion and commencement of trial operations using our new spiral floating platform is another important step in the continued development of Everlast’s mineral sands operations… Our immediate focus is now on optimising the platform to improve product quality and production volumes, while further strengthening our operating procedures and building the skills of our local workforce… The trial operating period will also allow us to produce material for further trial commercial exports, providing another important link between the continued development of our processing operations and the mineral sands market… We look forward to assessing the results of the optimisation program as we continue to progressively scale our operations towards commercialisation.”
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Next steps and the path toward commercialisation
Everlast has outlined the following near-term priorities over the coming months:
- Optimise operating parameters and processing performance of the new spiral floating platform
- Assess and improve mineral product quality and production volumes
- Adapt mining practices to the Fluvial Environment for Sustainable Mineral Sands Mining
- Implement enhanced operational and safety procedures
- Train additional employees to support future scale-up
- Produce material for further trial commercial exports
- Evaluate trial results to inform the next stage of operational scale-up
The table below summarises each focus area and its strategic purpose:
| Focus Area | Strategic Purpose |
|---|---|
| Platform optimisation | Improve product quality and processing efficiency |
| Trial commercial exports | Validate product specifications with market buyers |
| Workforce training | Build local operational capability for scale-up |
| Safety procedures | Reduce operational risk ahead of larger-scale production |
| Trial results evaluation | Inform next stage of production parameters |
Everlast is methodically building the operational and commercial foundations required for larger-scale production. Each trial export cycle and platform optimisation round reduces execution risk and strengthens the company’s positioning in the mineral sands market. The company’s language throughout is deliberately measured, using terms like “progressive,” “potential,” and “intended to support” — which is the appropriate framing for a project still working toward commercialisation rather than one already there.
The Bangladesh power connection at Gaibandha was an earlier infrastructure milestone in this same build-out sequence, reflecting the layered groundwork Everlast has been laying across the site ahead of larger-scale production.
Ready to Learn More About the Gaibandha Heavy Minerals Project?
Everlast Minerals (ASX: EV8) is progressively scaling its 100%-owned Gaibandha operation in Bangladesh, with the newly deployed spiral processing floating platform marking a material step toward commercialisation. Trial operations are now underway, with a clear focus on improving product quality, increasing throughput, and generating material for further trial commercial exports.
To follow Everlast’s development pathway and assess the project’s investment potential, explore the full Everlast Minerals profile on Discovery Alert for the latest updates on Gaibandha’s operational progress and near-term milestones.