Gekko Systems says the mineral processing plant to recover tungsten at the Dolphin Mine in King Island, in Tasmania, Australia, has now reached the commercial production milestone.

Group 6 Metals (G6M) contracted Gekko Systems to design, procure and construct a mineral processing plant for the recovery of tungsten at the mine back in 2021. The Gekko engineering team worked in close partnership with G6M to design the process flowsheet and, by mid-2023, the process plant achieved commercial production, operating 24 hours a day to process tungsten.

“We are proud to achieve commercial production of the Dolphin Mine Processing Plant on King Island,” Andrew Edmondston, CEO of Gekko Systems, said. “This project represents a remarkable achievement for Gekko, G6M and the entire team involved. The processing plant will undoubtedly contribute to the sustainable supply of tungsten and support numerous industries that rely on this critical mineral.”

The installation and commissioning of the processing plant were carried out by skilled workers from mostly regional Tasmania and Victoria.

An October 2021 presentation from King Island Scheelite, which has since become G6M, outlined a 400,000 t/y ore operation, producing 275,000 metric tonne units of tungsten oxide.