It is reported that ANSTO Minerals has completed preparation of feed material for the Ngualla solvent extraction (SX) Pilot Plan. The work was achieved using the simple sulphuric acid leach recovery process to treat a 1.3 tonne bulk sample of Ngualla rare earth mineralisation, which further verifies the robustness of the process flow sheet.

The ability to produce separated high purity products adds significant value to the project and allows access to wider markets for Ngualla’s products.

Highlights are as followed:
An average 83% recovery of rare earths in the acid leach stage was achieved from the bulk sample.
The work independently verifies the ‘Proof of Concept’ simple acid leach recovery flowsheet at a larger scale using a bulk composite of weathered Bastnaesite Zone rare earth mineralisation from Ngualla.
The rare earth chloride feed solution produced is exceptionally pure with thorium and uranium levels below detection limits.
An optimisation program on the acid leach and purification flowsheet is expected to improve process efficiencies further and Peak has commissioned ANSTO to complete this work.
The SX Pilot Plant remains on track to deliver four separated >99% purity rare earth oxide (REO) products successively over the next few months with the final product delivered by mid-2013.
In addition to providing product samples and specifications for assessment by potential off take customers, the work will provide detailed engineering data for the design of the full scale SX plant for inclusion in the Pre-Feasibility Study currently in progress.
The SX Pilot Plant work will confirm the end to end process of Ngualla mineralisation to high value products, demonstrating the de-risking of the project, and is a major step toward achieving production in early 2016.

Peak Managing Director Richard Beazley said “The independent verification of the Ngualla process flowsheet by ANSTO Minerals further demonstrates that Peak has a robust and reliable metallurgical treatment process that works for the weathered Bastnaesite mineralisation at Ngualla. Completion of the SX Pilot Plant work will place Peak amongst a very select few companies to have successfully produced high quality purified rare earth products.”


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While there are many opportunities for  company that should have been included among the ‘chosen ones’. That company is Matamec Exploration. Matamec recently issued an update of the progress of the feasibility study for the proposed Kipawa heavy rare earths mine. The mine has earned the confidence of one of the largest corporations in the world, Toyota, which formed a joint venture with Toyota Tsusho Corp (‘Tsusho’, a trading company part of the Toyota Motor Co. group).

Toyota plans to source rare metals need make hybrid and electric vehicles. Under the deal, Tsusho acquired a 49% stake in Matamec’s Kipawa heavy rare earth (HREE) deposit in Quebec in return for a CAD$ 16 million investment to enable Matamec to complete a feasibility study on the property, which can now be expected by the second quarter of 2013. To date Matamec over CAD$ 12 million out of the total CAD$ 16 million for the completion of a definitive feasibility study. The Feasibility Study for Kipawa is proceeding as planned and the results are expected by the end of Q2 2013.

Tsusho delivered the first CAD$ 8.5 million tranche of the investment (amounting to 25% of the agreed upon interest in Kipawa) at the end of last summer. The actual amount of rare earths used in hybrid vehicles is small; however, these elements are absolutely crucial for the manufacturing of the magnets, superconductors, catalysts and batteries that are increasingly used in hybrid and electric vehicles. HREE’s are making it possible to reduce battery weight, dimensions while increasing their power in conjunction with developments in battery charging technology that will drive demand for EV’s and hybrids over the next few years.

                 

While the agreement is a boon for Matamec, which will be in strong financial position to develop its deposit to production stage, it is of even greater strategic value for Toyota Tsusho, which needs to secure rare earth elements. Indeed, in commercial terms, Matamec’s partner of choice offers immediate commercial applications.

The key elements of the implementation phase include the environmental impact study, sustainable development and of course the 2012 drilling campaign and estimation of mineral resources results among other aspects. The estimated capital costs for the operations are at an advanced stage and are expected to be finalized this spring. These estimates will be optimized by the next two months as well as infrastructure design will be reviewed in order to minimize the associated costs. Demand for rare earths could soon exceed supply, given that China produces 97% of these critical metals and is tightening the reins on exports. Matamec, meanwhile, “is the only rare earth exploration company to have received funds to accelerate and complete a feasibility study and an environmental and social impact assessment study of a HREE deposit”. If the yardstick is perhaps the time needed to complete the preliminary assessments and the availability of financing, Matamec satisfies Tracy’s PDAC Challenge as a worthy investment proposition.


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Rare earth metals (REM) and rare earth elements (REE) are the collection of 17 earth elements in the periodic table, namely scandium, yttrium, and 15 lanthanides. Because of their unique magnetic, fluorescent and chemical properties, REM and REE are key materials used in science innovation.

Major rare earth applications are used in hybrid vehicles. For example the Toyota Prius,  contains 30 kg (65 lb) of REE. Rare earth elements are used in motors, metal hydride batteries, glass, autocatalysts, and electronics.

There are 15 accepted rare earth elements known as the lanthanides with atomic numbers 57 to 71 and are listed as follows: lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, and lutetium.

                  

Promethium is a synthetic element which does not occur naturally is not generally included as a commodty. Yttrium is considered a rare earth since it tends to occur in the same ore deposits as the lanthanides and exhibits similar chemical properties.

It has been the practice to report rare elements as a percentage oxide. The elements are initially reported from the lab in parts per million. The elements are converted to oxides with the following molecular formulas, La₂O₃, _Ce2O₃, Pr₂O₃, Nd₂O₃, Sm₂O₃, Eu₂O₃, Gd₂O₃, Tb₂O₃, Dy₂O₃, Ho₂O₃, Er₂O₃, Tm₂O₃, Yb₂O₃, Lu₂O₃, and Y2O3. Rare earth oxides are reported as total rare earth oxides (TREO) which is a simple addition of the percentages of the above 15 components.

Rare earth oxides are further classified as light rare earth oxides (LREO) which includes La₂O₃, _Ce2O₃, Pr₂O₃, Nd₂O₃ and Sm₂O₃, and heavy rare oxides (HREO) which includes Eu₂O₃, Gd₂O₃, Tb₂O₃, Dy₂O₃, Ho₂O₃, Er₂O₃, Tm₂O₃, Yb₂O₃, Lu₂O₃, and Y2O3.

As a rough measure of the value of an assay, heavy rare earth elements (HREO) are reported as a percentage of total rare earth oxides (TREO). In the coming years heavy rare earth elements will be more sought after since China, the world’s leading producer of rare earths, has indicated it will be curtailing exports in order to meet and secure their domestic needs. The short fall in production from other countries in the world will lead to an upward pressure on commodity prices.


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With sea ice thawing and new shipping routes opening in the Arctic, the former Cold War ally of the West has emerged from isolation as a geopolitical interest for governments seeking a share of untapped minerals and potential offshore oil and gas. Prime Minister Kuupik Kleist has opened up Greenland to investors over the last four years.