Comments on: February 2012 Updates To The TMR Rare-Earth Projects Index

By: Gareth Hatch

Gareth Hatch — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 18:01:13 +0000

@Horacio Carvalho: thanks for the note – happy to discuss this topic. Feel free to drop me a line directly via ghatch (-at-) techmetalsresearch.net.

@robit: a lot of folks don’t realize that the blending of multiple concentrates for separation is already being done in China, and has been for sometime. Certainly not an easy process, but it is doable.

Magnetic separation is a useful way of separation fractional from within process streams, especially if the differential between materials that respond and those that don’t, is significant.

@Tekton: I recall that report – I think the term used was that Yttrium could be seen as a proxy for the other HREEs present. I took issue at the time that the report was referenced publicly by Ucore, with any implication that the results implied similar recoveries for other HREEs. Only an actual test could tell us that.

@ringo: are you connected with RETRENCH?

By: ringo

ringo — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 16:22:05 +0000

reply to Horacio Carvalho:

There is a company RETRENCH in UK that has a great knowledge about extracting and recycling of WEEE i know that they already run some activities and the guys there are quite flexible. You might try and contact them.

By: robit

robit — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 14:02:08 +0000

I would like to change that location to Sept-Iles on the north side of the Gulf of St Lawrence.

By: robit

robit — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 03:51:45 +0000

Greenland has a new ASX announcement that says they can reduce the ree and uranium bearing part of the ore down to less than 15% of the original mass using froth flotation. Then they can do economical leaching on the reduced portion without pressure. Kvanefjeld is about 2,300 km of open sea to Riviere du Loup. (which seems to me like a good place for a central separation facility)

By: robit

robit — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:42:11 +0000

The magnetic assisted culling news was from Tasman. See the 9 Feb press release:
http://www.tasmanmetals.com/s/Home.asp

By: robit

robit — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:15:21 +0000

Search Minerals said last week there is a distinct difference between the ore with the good ree content and the ore with low ree content and that should let them do an inexpensive culling. I have a vague memory of another company disclosing culling by magnetic attraction. I will try to find which one that was. I believe the vein formation at Bokan would allow much of the culling to be done by the operator of the rock eater. (what is the correct name of the piece of equipment that will be used)

By: Tekton

Tekton — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 16:58:14 +0000

In response to Robit’s comment “I will start taking special note of disclosures that the ore from a particular deposit is amenable to very inexpensive methods of culling out non-ree-bearing “stuff” (and/or low % from high %) and what the TREO % would be after the culling” , I recall a question posed a couple years ago about the deposits at Bokan Mountain. Acording to the archived data reports from USGS or USMS in the 80’s I think, they were able to achieve 99% extraction of Yttrium using the simplest acid solvent extraction. The question was whether this level of extraction would act as a predictor for REEs as well.
So, Gareth. might you, Jack, or Patrick or others have some insight here?

By: robit

robit — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 10:47:35 +0000

I found at least a partial answer to something I have wondered about for quite some time. From the IMC website:

“IMC recently initiated research at a prestigious Chinese REE research institute, which subsequently demonstrated that multiple rare-earth concentrates, produced from various REE-bearing mineral sources, can be processed together effectively, resulting in attractive recovery rates.”

I suppose that concept would not be embraced by 100% of those with practical experience in separation techniques, although that sort of negative claim has always been made regarding the leading edge of change.

I will start taking special note of disclosures that the ore from a particular deposit is amenable to very inexpensive methods of culling out non-ree-bearing “stuff” (and/or low % from high %) and what the TREO % would be after the culling. It seems like there might be times when the IMC facility would be spiting out more of a non-ree critical metal than it is rees.

By: Horacio Carvalho

Horacio Carvalho — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 08:55:28 +0000

Hi Gareth
I would like to congratulate you for these updates very usefull.
We run a WEEE recycling operation with all types of Waste Electric, electronic Equipment, and as such we get a lot of PCB’s with REE’s.
I would like to know if you are familiar with the ‘process recovery’ of these as we are looking at new technologies to extract them from the PCB’s.
Thanking in anticipation of any information, best, Horacio Carvalho