Texas Rare Earth Resources (TRER), an exploration company targeting the heavy rare earths, reports that recent metallurgical analyses indicate there is the potential to economically recover significant amounts of industrial minerals. These minerals are contained in the primary leach solution (PLS) that TRER expects to produce from the rhyolite it mines from the company’s Round Top deposit in southwest Texas.

Initial column leach tests of the Round Top ore, which formed the basis for the company’s 2013 PEA, were conducted by RDI in Denver. This work successfully demonstrated the efficient recovery of the rare earth elements by leaching crushed rhyolite ore with dilute sulphuric acid. In addition to the rare earth elements, a variety of other elements were leached from the source rock. The primary objective had been to develop an economically feasible method of recovering the rare earth elements from the primary leach solution in order to produce a feedstock acceptable for a separation plant.

TRER has pursued rare earth separation by assessing the viability of K-Technologies’ continuous ion exchange/continuous ion chromatography (CIX/CIC) technology. It is now addressing the potential of the other elements that are present in the PLS. Sulphates of aluminum are widely marketed as a water treatment agent and sulphates of iron, magnesium and potassium are commonly used fertiliser products. Internal analysis of data from the 2013 column leach tests indicates that if these four elements were recovered, they would potentially produce the following tonnages per year in the envisioned 20,000 t/d operation at Round Top:

Mineral                                 Potential annual recovery (t)                             Current price/t

Aluminium sulphate                 182,000 t                                                                       $150-220

Ferrous sulphate                          71,000 t                                                                        $80-100

Magnesium sulphate                  44,000 t                                                                           $75-130

Potassium sulphate                    33,000 t                                                                         $700-735

In addition to the industrial minerals mentioned above, TRER has reported, in prior press releases, the following potentially recoverable quantities of other byproducts:

Mineral                                 Potential annual recovery (t)                            Current price

Uranium oxide                         307,000 lb                                                                      $36.00/lb

Scandium oxide                          5,400 kg                                                                      $1,600-2,000/kg

Lithium carbonate                      9,000 t                                                                       $6,000/t

In April 2015, TRER signed a uranium offtake agreement with UG USA Inc, a subsidiary of AREVA.

Dan Gorski, CEO: “While the production of heavy rare earths continues to be the primary objective at Round Top, the deposit is truly multi-metallic. As we complete our assessment of the total potential of the deposit, the numerous other elements potentially recovered in the leaching of this rock, rather than being a troublesome waste product stream to be neutralised and disposed, are proving to make a significant contribution to the potential revenue stream and serve to diversify and de-risk the sources of future revenue. Both the industrial minerals and byproducts which are potentially recoverable are typically readily marketable within the US and around the world.”

The Round Top rare earth minerals project is located in Hudspeth County, Texas, 137 km east of El Paso. www.trer.com