Tag Archives: Lakefield

Piedmont Lithium enlists SGS Canada for pilot-scale spodumene work

Energy minerals, Mineral processing, Mineral project development, Mining services, , , , , , ,

Piedmont Lithium has agreed to partner with SGS Canada in Lakefield, Ontario, to complete a pilot-scale spodumene concentrator program at its namesake project in North Carolina, USA.

The company collected over 50 t of mineralised pegmatite from 17 locations across its core properties in February. These near-surface samples were from locations representing early, middle and late-stage planned production at the development.

Piedmont said the pilot plant design will be based on the results of prior test work programs and will be used to support both the definitive feasibility study (DFS) of the company’s planned concentrate operations, as well as detailed design engineering of full-scale operations.

The pilot program will target production of a large sample of spodumene concentrate with at least 6% Li2O and less than 1% Fe2O3 for use in future pilot-scale lithium hydroxide test work programs that Piedmont intends to complete as part of the DFS of its planned integrated lithium chemical plant. The tests will involve “dense medium and flotation” pilot work, Piedmont said.

The ASX-listed company said this test work is a “critical step in ensuring future commissioning and ramp-up success” at the project.

“Additionally, the bulk sample collected targeted a range of potential concentrator feed conditions, including low-grade zones and diluted feed,” the company said. “Testing variable conditions rather than an optimised feed will help inform engineering design and eliminate potential operational bottlenecks during the project design phase.”

Keith Phillips, President and Chief Executive Officer of Piedmont, said: “The program will enable Piedmont to complete future lithium hydroxide test work programs and also supply large sample of spodumene to our key customer, Tesla, for their own testing purposes.”

The prefeasibility study on the Piedmont lithium project, released earlier this year, envisaged two options – a “Merchant” project and an “Integrated” project. Both included an annual average lithium hydroxide production (steady-state) of 22,720 t, but only the latter included 160,000 t/y of 6% Li2O spodumene concentrate production over the 25-year mine life.

SGS Minerals on board with Glencore Technology’s Albion Process

Base metals, Metallurgy, Mineral processing, Mining services, Precious metals, , , , , , , , , , ,

Glencore Technology and SGS Minerals have announced an agreement and certification that has seen SGS’s Lakefield site in Ontario, Canada, become the latest laboratory to be certified to conduct amenability level Albion Process™ testwork.

SGS, one of the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification companies, has become only the third certified provider of Albion Process testwork, joining Core Resources in Australia and TOMS Institute in Russia, Glencore Technology said.

“SGS is a highly trusted provider of laboratory testwork services and becomes a valuable supplier to Glencore Technology, expanding testwork capability throughout the Americas,” the company said. The lab successfully performed Albion Process testwork on a gold/pyrite concentrate and a copper/gold concentrate as part of this qualification.

The Albion Process is emerging as a competitive proposition in hydrometallurgy, using a combination of ultrafine grinding and oxidative leaching at atmospheric pressure to help extract base or precious metals. The process sees the sulphides in base of precious metal concentrate feeds oxidised and valuable metals liberated, with the economic metals recovered by conventional downstream processing, according to Glencore Technology.

The SGS testwork certification is important to both companies because the correct performance of the testwork is key to the successful full-scale implementation of the Albion Process on which performance guarantees are based, Glencore Technology explained.

“While the number of certified laboratories will expand in other key geographic areas, it will be kept to a relatively small number to maintain quality,” the company added.

Glencore Technology’s Mike Hourn, said: “We are delighted to see SGS Lakefield join the family of laboratories with the capability to perform Albion Process amenability testwork. They’re good at what they do and SGS represents a significant presence for us in the Americas and their network is highly valued by Glencore Technology.”

SGS Lakefield’s Niels Verbaan, said: “SGS is pleased to be accredited by Glencore Technology on Albion Process™ Testwork and looks forward to working with its clients to provide an objective opinion on the available process options.”

Independent analysis presented at the Extraction 2018 conference suggested the Albion Process has much lower capital cost than traditional leaching technologies like pressure oxidation (POx) plants (Clary et al, 2018). It also tolerates a more variable feed and lower grade to work where others may not, according to Glencore Technology. “It can therefore make some projects feasible and profitable where alternative technologies were unable to,” the company said, adding that there are six plants in operation globally treating refractory gold and copper concentrates.

The Lakefield site of SGS Minerals is its centre of excellence for metallurgical and mineralogical testing in the Americas, offering both laboratory and pilot plant services.