Commerce Resources Corp. (TSXV:CCE) has achieved a significant milestone with the production of a sample of mixed rare earth carbonate (mixed REC) from its Ashram Project in Quebec that meets typical rare earth element (REE) market specifications.
The mixed REC sample also demonstrated a strong and consistent recovery of neodymium (Nd) and praseodymium (Pr) throughout the flowsheet, resulting in a final NdPr oxide distribution – i.e. % of Nd+Pr oxide of the total rare earth oxide (REO) – of 21.6%, which is significantly higher than several major global producers.
This initial mixed REC sample is the last step ahead of final downstream scale-up to produce ~2.5 kg of on-spec mixed REC to satisfy several requests by third party processors. The Company expects to have its initial sample volumes ready for third party evaluation over the next few weeks.
President, Chris Grove, said the company has achieved a key milestone in producing a marketable mixed REC product, and moreover, one with an extremely attractive NdPr distribution, which is reflective of the deposit.
“The flowsheet has been significantly advanced and derisked through the process of producing this mixed REC and I look forward to the delivery of these next samples to the major global processors that have requested it.”
The mixed REC sample was produced from the Ashram Rare Earth and Fluorspar Deposit using the conventional recovery flowsheet developed at Hazen Research in Colorado, USA, which results in high grade monazite concentrate exceeding 40% rare earth oxide (REO).
The monazite concentrate was processed through a sulphuric acid pot digestion, to ‘crack’ the monazite, which was then followed by a water leach to liberate the individual REEs into solution at high recovery.
The thorium was then selectively removed using solvent extraction and the REEs subsequently isolated and precipitated as a mixed rare earth carbonate concentrate, meeting typical market specifications.
In the rare earth industry, a mixed REC concentrate is typically viewed as the initial marketable product in the rare earth element value chain. A mixed REC is readily saleable as it is the most common feedstock to REE solvent extraction facilities globally, which separate each individual REE and allow for them to be individually refined into marketable products and disseminated throughout downstream value chains.
In addition to targeting the production of a mixed REC for the initial years of production at Ashram, the Company is currently evaluating moving downstream early in the mine-life through to partial separations, which will be reflected in the Prefeasibility Study (PFS).
A partial separation will allow for a marketable NdPr oxide product to be produced, in addition to a Ce-La product and a mixed Sm-Eu-Gd + heavy REE product, thereby unlocking additional value while not adding significant technical risk and capital expenditures to the flowsheet by pursuing full separation of all 15 REOs at initial production.
About the Ashram Deposit
The Ashram Deposit ranks as one of the largest REE (and fluorspar) deposits globally, consisting of a monazite dominated, single mineralized body outcropping at surface, and has a footprint approximately 600 m along strike, over 300 m across, and 600 m deep, remaining open in several directions.
The deposit hosts a measured resource of 1.6 million tonnes (Mt) at 1.77% rare earth oxide (REO) and 3.8% F, an indicated resource of 27.7 Mt at 1.90% REO and 2.9% F, and an inferred resource of 219.8 Mt at 1.88% REO and 2.2% F, at a cut-off grade of 1.25% REO.
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