Tag Archives: Nebraska

NioCorp working with Weir Minerals, NRRI on Elk Creek HPGR test work

NioCorp Developments Ltd is to initiate testing of Elk Creek project ore using high pressure grinding rolls (HPGR) technology from Weir Minerals.

HPGR technology is considered an energy efficient and low-emission alternative to conventional processing for reducing the size of the ore to enable the recovery of niobium, scandium, titanium, and potential rare earth products, NioCorp said.

The use of this technology in the project reinforces the company’s commitment to the environment and designing a sustainable operation, it added.

The testing is being conducted at the Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI) of the University of Minnesota-Duluth, in partnership with Weir Minerals. During the testing, which is expected to take several weeks, around 3 t of Elk Creek drill core will be reduced to the 1-mm size needed for hydrometallurgical test work.

Working with Weir Minerals, NRRI acquired an industrial-scale Enduron® HPGR to carry out testing on a variety of ores with this process back in 2020. This is the only large scale HPGR dedicated to research in the US, NRRI claims.

“The network is expected to provide key data that will be used to properly size the HPGR unit for the potential ore throughput at the Elk Creek project, once project financing is secured and the project is operational,” NioCorp said.

The company is currently evaluating the next steps in its overall metallurgical test work program, which will focus on optimising and streamlining the existing processing flowsheet as well as establishing process routes for the potential recovery of rare earth products. The rare earth products that are of most interest to the company are, at present, neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) oxide, terbium oxide and dysprosium oxide. As previously announced, the company has launched a review of the economic potential of expanding its currently planned product suite from the project to also include rare earth products.

An April 2019 feasibility study on Elk Creek, in Nebraska, USA, estimated average production of 7,220 t/y of ferroniobium, 95 t/y tpa of scandium trioxide and 11,642 t/y of titanium dioxide over the 36-year mine life.

Scott Honan, NioCorp COO, said: “After witnessing testing at NRRI, I was impressed with how the HPGR was able to handle the Elk Creek ore quickly and efficiently, with minimal noise and dust.

“We look forward to completing this phase of the test work and moving on to look at further improvements to the existing flowsheet, including our new emphasis around the rare earths.”

ME Elecmetal looks for sales, service boost with Road Machinery & Supplies Co partnership

ME Elecmetal has selected Road Machinery & Supplies Co (RMS) as a manufacturers’ representative for its line of crusher wear product solutions.

RMS is a distributor of construction and mining equipment with sales and support operations throughout the Upper Midwest of USA. It represents the best brands in the industry and backs them up with responsive, knowledgeable product support and technology solutions, enabling customers to complete their jobs safely and on time, according to ME Elecmetal.

As a distributor for ME Elecmetal, RMS will provide sales, parts, service, and other support capabilities to customers in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

“As part of our effort to increase our market presence in this important region of the United States, we are pleased to begin our relationship with Road Machinery & Supplies,” George Schlemmer, Director of Crusher Products and Solutions for ME Elecmetal, said. “The years of experience in the states they will represent, as well as their highly skilled and knowledgeable sales and service teams, will be a great asset in providing our end customers with premium quality crushing and aggregate solutions.”

RMS Aggregate Division Manager, Ben Schmidtlein, said: “We feel our new partnership with ME Elecmetal will have a direct impact to our customers’ bottom lines. We are excited to combine top-quality wear materials to our great products and services.”

NioCorp adds Zachry Group to EPC mix at Elk Creek project

NioCorp Developments says it has selected Zachry Group as the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) firm for the surface processing facilities and associated infrastructure of the proposed Elk Creek Superalloy Material project, in Nebraska, USA.

The agreement, subject to the completion of EPC contract negotiations, comes on top of NioCorp selecting Cementation USA as the lead EPC contractor for the underground aspects of Elk Creek as well as saying it intended to engage The Nordmin Group of Companies to provide engineering services for the project.

The development of the project will require significant additional capital above what NioCorp has raised to date, the company said, adding that “any significant work on the project pursuant to an agreement with Zachry will be contingent on obtaining sufficient project financing, if and when available”.

Based in San Antonio, Texas, and with an engineering office in Omaha, Nebraska, Zachry has been engaged on the project since 2014 and is currently working under an Engineering Services Agreement with NioCorp.

Cementation and Nordmin get the honours at NioCorp’s Elk Creek project

NioCorp Developments says Cementation USA, part of the Cementation Americas Group, has been selected as the lead engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor for the underground aspects of the proposed Elk Creek Superalloy Material project in Nebraska, USA.

In addition, the company announced that it intends to engage The Nordmin Group of Companies to provide engineering services for the project.

Based in Sandy, Utah, Cementation is a mining- and minerals-focused group of companies, delivering both underground and surface solutions for mines and downstream minerals processing facilities worldwide.

Negotiations towards a formal EPC agreement between NioCorp and Cementation will be initiated in the near future, according to NioCorp.

“Cementation provides broad expertise in both mine construction and mine engineering, and has a solid track record in safely executing on mine development projects around the world,” Mark A Smith, CEO and Executive Chairman of NioCorp, said. “We look forward to working with their team to build one of the few greenfield underground mine developments in North America, and to a long and mutually beneficial relationship.”

The superalloy materials project in southeast Nebraska will produce niobium, scandium, and titanium: superalloys that make steel lighter and stronger, can, when combined with aluminium make alloys with increased strength and improved corrosion resistance, and is a key component of pigments used in paper, paint and plastics, respectively.

Cementation’s Robert Gripper, EVP Contracting, USA, said: “It’s encouraging to see an owner embrace the EPC approach. We understand that mine owners are looking for engineering that adds value through the use of best practices and accounts for constructability and operability, and a construction team that is aligned with the engineer and owner. Such an approach lends itself to this.”

Nordmin, meanwhile, has demonstrated its expertise in designing an improved mine plan for the project, along with an innovative interpretation of the geologic resource and a sound plan for managing bedrock groundwater associated with the mine, according to NioCorp.

NioCorp said: “The company anticipates that any significant additional work on the project by Nordmin will be contingent on obtaining additional project financing, if and when available.”