Tag Archives: praesodymium

Wood Group, Nagrom devise high-grade rare earth flowsheet for Pensana’s Longonjo

Comminution of minerals, Energy minerals, Metallurgy, Mineral processing, Mineral project development, Mining services, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , , ,

Pensana Rare Earths says it has successfully produced a neodymium- and praseodymium-rich mixed rare earth carbonate (MREC) from test work currently underway on mineralisation from its Longonjo rare earth project, in Angola.

Industry experts Wood Group and Nagrom, based on test work performed at metallurgical laboratories in Perth, Western Australia, have successfully developed a flowsheet to produce a particularly high-grade MREC, with NdPr comprising 33.5% of the total rare earths content, Pensana said.

This MREC is a much higher-purity and higher-value product and has a much broader market and range of applications than the concentrate product contemplated in Pensana’s prefeasibility study, according to the company. Also, based on information provided by Wood and Nagrom, the specifications of Longonjo’s MREC compare favourably with the main products currently being produced and sold mainly in China.

In the meantime, the pilot plant and metallurgical test work at Longonjo are ongoing with a view to finalising the preferred process route and to providing data for engineering and production cost estimations for the bankable feasibility study (BFS).

A comprehensive update on the BFS will be reported towards the end of the month, with the company explaining that two of the circuits will be required to run for longer to bring the test work results up to the required reporting standards for the study.

“A key feature that the study will report is the potential for the project to be brought online as the first major rare earth mine in over a decade which can also offer a sustainable supply of mixed rare earth carbonate at a time when there is growing concern around the provenance of the rare earth supply chain,” the company said.

Pensana Chief Executive Officer, Tim George, said: “This is an important milestone for the project as it confirms the potential to produce a marketable higher value NdPr rich mixed rare earth carbonate. The market for this carbonate is substantially larger than that of a concentrate and is potentially not limited to China.

“We are now in a position to commence discussions with potential offtake parties in Japan, Korea and Europe in addition to the wide range of potential customers in China.

“Importantly the combination of this value-adding step, with the excellent infrastructure, not least the available hydro-electric power supply, will enable us to develop Longonjo as one of the world’s most sustainable rare earth suppliers on the critical magnet metal supply chain.”

Pensana recently issued a resource upgrade for Longonjo, which outlined measured, indicated and inferred resources of 313 Mt at 1.43% rare earth oxides, including 0.32% NdPr for 4.47 Mt of REO including 990,000 t of NdPr.

Arafura brings KBR into Nolans neodymium-praseodymium project team

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

Arafura Resources has appointed KBR as the Project Management Consultant to the integrated project management team (IPMT) at its Nolans neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) project in the Northern Territory of Australia.

A definitive feasibility study on Nolans envisaged a combination of phosphate and rare earth extraction processes to produce an average annual production of 4,357 t of NdPr and 135,808 t of merchant-grade phosphoric acid over an initial mine life of 23 years.

KBR is, according to Arafura, a globally recognised Tier One project management consultancy that has a wealth of knowledge and delivery experience across many complex projects in mineral processing, hydrometallurgy, and oil and gas. It recently helped complete the OZ Minerals-owned Carrapateena copper project, in South Australia, performing a similar role in an integrated management team with OZ, the company said.

The scope of work for the IPMT encompasses management of all aspects of the project, according to Arafura, with the KBR team to be integrated with Arafura project personnel to build on the existing project knowledge and supplement it with proven project delivery solutions and systems.

As part of the IPMT, KBR has also partnered with Wave International as a sub-consultant. Wave has minerals processing experience including in rare earths and will provide additional engineering depth to the project as well as undertake the engineering design of selected non-process infrastructure, Arafura said.

Arafura Managing Director, Gavin Lockyer, said: “KBR brings a proven track record, systems and global experience to the project which will enhance our existing capabilities. Through their partnership with Wave, which has assisted the Arafura team with the definitive feasibility study and execution readiness activities to date, there will be a continuity of knowledge and momentum, moving into the project delivery activities.”

Wayne Nolan, KBR’s Vice President of Infrastructure Services Australia, said: “KBR is excited for the opportunity to be involved in the Nolans project and looks forward to bringing the project successfully through construction and production. We will bring together our local expertise in the resources sector, and best practice experience from similar programs of works elsewhere in the world to deliver these services.”

Stantec sizing up sites for Medallion’s US rare earth element extraction plant

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

Medallion Resources says it has engaged international engineering group Stantec to evaluate sites in the US for its planned rare earth element (REE) extraction plant.

The plant, which will use feedstock sourced from the southeast US, will leverage Medallion’s proprietary hydrometallurgical process to extract a REE concentrate from by-product monazite sand in a clean, safe, and automated fashion.

Medallion, after many years of test work and development, recently completed the design of this process.

Key features of the enhanced “caustic crack” REE extraction process include:

  • Full automation for low manpower requirements and worker isolation from harsh operating environments (chemical, thermal and radiological) for enhanced safety;
  • Highly-energy efficient design;
  • Option for a zero liquid discharge plant to provide additional flexibility on planning/permitting;
  • Waste production options; and
  • Employment of only “off-the-shelf” equipment — with innovations on their application.

The process design was led by Medallion’s Metallurgist Kurt Forrester, with the developmental test work performed at the Saskatchewan Research Council’s Mineral and Metallurgy Division, in addition to using input from thermodynamic model analysis and solubility testing development at the University of Toronto’s Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry Department. The test monazite feedstock was provided by a heavy-mineral sands (HMS) producer in the southeast US.

The plant’s output will be rich in  and praseodymium (or NdPr), the critical input to the rare-earth permanent magnets that power the lightweight and powerful motors required in electric vehicles (EVs), defence applications, and numerous clean technologies, according to the company.

Don Lay, President & CEO of Medallion, said: “Based on recent announcements from the US Department of Defense on funding programs for rare-earth separation and magnet stockpiling as well as automakers’ desires for non-Chinese sources of NdPr, we’re taking this important step toward production.”

The proposed US-based REE plant has a small footprint and capital costs that are a fraction of the traditional REE mining and processing facilities, according to Medallion. “This provides a quick pathway to production of rare-earth products for domestic markets,” the company said.

The company said its plant location will be a “modern chemical processing setting with top-tier environmental standards and employ highly trained technicians”. The evaluation also covers both upstream and downstream logistics options related to the transport of monazite feedstock, reagents, produced concentrates and waste material.

Medallion plans to extract REEs from monazite tailing streams, which are a by-product of the HMS industry, with sources in the US, South America, Africa, Australia, and Southeast Asia.

“Medallion has established relationships with many HMS firms to coordinate upgrading potential, volumes and timing of available material,” it said.