OD6 Metals (ASX:OD6) said ion exchange and impurity removal metallurgical testing conducted by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization enhanced the processing efficiency and rare earth product quality at the Splinter Rock rare earth project in Western Australia, according to a Thursday Australian bourse filing.

The firm is looking to use the ion exchange technology, a chemical process where ions are swapped between a solution and a solid material, to decrease the aluminum and iron content to improve downstream impurity removal and mixed rare earth carbonate quality, the filing said.

The testing resulted in an overall neodymium and praseodymium recovery of around 75% from the mine through to the final mixed rare earth carbonate product.

The firm also confirmed that after the testing, levels of both uranium and thorium were less than 0.001% by weight.

OD6 Metals' shares jumped over 7% in recent trading on Thursday.