Tag Archives: NRC IRAP

Hatch Engineering joins Geomega team focused on rare earths recycling

Energy minerals, Mineral processing, Mining services, , , , , ,

Geomega Resources and its subsidiary Innord have added Hatch Engineering to its engineering group to advance the development and prepare for constructing the first rare earth magnet recycling plant outside of Asia.

This engineering work on the demonstration plant in St Bruno, Quebec, will be funded 50% by additional funds from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP), Geomega says.

Hatch is a multidiscipline engineering group with a strong presence in Quebec, Canada. It has expertise in rare earth and other industrial minerals processing, industrial and chemical construction and development, permitting and many other fields which Geomega is now entering into.

Kiril Mugerman, President and CEO of Geomega, said: “Hatch has taken part in some of the most complex recent mining and processing projects in Canada and globally, and is well suited to bring Geomega its technical and project delivery expertise to this demonstration plant project.

“With a strong engineering partner, government support and significant interest in the rare earth sector today globally, we are very excited to develop the first rare earths magnet recycling facility outside of Asia right here in Quebec, Canada.”

He added that other major milestones will be announced in the near future as the company puts forward its strategy to develop the rare earths magnet recycling facility in St Bruno.

Based in Montreal, Geomega Resources has developed a proprietary in-situ recovery technology that recycles rare earth elements, it says. The corporation is targeting 2020 for initial production from its demonstration plant.

BQE Water sorts SART plant for China’s Shandong Zhongkuang Group

Environmental, Metallurgy, Mineral processing, Mining services, Precious metals, Sustainable mining, Water management, , , , , , , , , , ,

BQE Water says it has been awarded its first contract to deliver a sulphidisation, acidification, recycling and thickening (SART) plant in China.

The contract, at a gold metallurgical facility owned and operated by Shandong Zhongkuang Group Co in eastern China, was awarded following the positive outcome of the engineering feasibility study and on-site testing completed by BQE Water earlier in the year, the company said.

The contract consists of two project phases. In the first phase, BQE Water will provide all aspects of the plant design, engineering support during procurement and construction, and plant commissioning, it said. This initial phase is to be completed within the next 12 months.

In the second phase, BQE Water will provide ongoing operations support services for a period of five years and will be paid a quarterly service fee based on plant performance.

David Kratochvil, President & CEO of BQE Water, said: “We are very excited about this project which enables BQE Water to demonstrate our leadership in SART technology in China and to execute the project using a business model that generates recurring revenues from technological know-how and services without the need for capital investment.

“I would also like to acknowledge the positive role that funding and advisory services from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP) has played in allowing us to accelerate research in clean Canadian technologies such as SART in China.”

Songlin Ye, Vice President for Asia at BQE Water, said: “The success of our operations at the Guoda gold smelter some 20 km away from the Zhongkuang site and our partnership with MWT Water Treatment Project Limited Co, were both instrumental in establishing the commercial framework for this project.

“SART implementation is the first step in the bigger picture of modernising cyanide management and waste treatment at the Zhongkuang metallurgical processing facility. The success of SART may open new opportunities to help us develop a long-term relationship with Zhongkuang.”

BQE Water calls itself a global leader in the SART process which enables cyanide consumed by base metals to be recovered and recycled, lowering the cost of gold extraction and reducing the environmental footprint of gold mining projects. The company also provides solutions to manage the by-products of cyanidation and cyanide destruction such as ammonia, nitrite and thiocyanate removal.