Defense Metals Corp. (TSXV:DEFN) is targeting commissioning in the second half of March after kicking off construction of a hydrometallurgical pilot plant related to its Wicheeda rare earths project in Canada.
“We are excited to enter this important milestone of building and running the hydrometallurgical pilot plant, which is scheduled to be commissioned in late March. Pilot operations will be done in two segments and should be completed by the end of April. A successful pilot plant programme will be essential for the completion of the engineering design and economics of the planned pre- feasibility study,” CEO, Craig Taylor, said.
“Following the successful completion of laboratory flotation and acid bake tests from December 2021 to date, Defense Metals is now ready to build a hydrometallurgical pilot plant.
“It is important to note that the Independent Preliminary Economic Assessment was based on a different hydrometallurgy flowsheet, the gangue-leach – caustic-crack process.
“However, after numerous laboratory tests the Company decided to pursue piloting of the less complex acid bake process, which has, in initial test-work, yielded better recovery rates, is an industry standard, and has the potential for improved economics.”
The objective of the pilot plant is to demonstrate at a larger scale, and with continuous operation, the processing of Wicheeda flotation concentrate to produce rare earths using the acid bake flowsheet, to help confirm the quality of the project, and to gather data required for the pre- feasibility study.
The pilot plant will be configured to produce a high-purity rare earth precipitate suitable as feed for a separation plant. Samples produced from the pilot plant will also be shared with potential end-users for product development and qualification.
Methodology
The plant is being built at SGS Lakefield, Ontario and will run in two segments for approximately two weeks. The feed for the plant will total approximately 600 kg of mineral concentrate that was generated from a flotation pilot plant operated on a bulk sample from the Wicheeda deposit.
The Wicheeda REE Property
Defense Metals wholly-owned, 4,262-hectare (~10,532-acre) Wicheeda REE property is located approximately 80km northeast of the city of Prince George, British Columbia; population 77,000.
The 2021 Wicheeda REE Project Preliminary Economic Assessment technical report (PEA) outlined a robust after-tax net present value (NPV@8%) of $517M and an 18% IRR. This PEA contemplated an open pit mining operation with a 1.75:1 (waste:mill feed) strip ratio providing a 1.8Mtpa mill throughput producing an average of 25,423t REO annually over a 16 year mine life. A Phase 1 initial pit strip ratio of 0.63:1 (waste:mill feed) would yield rapid access to higher grade surface mineralization in year 1 and payback of $440M initial capital within five years.
For further information please visit: https://www.defensemetals.com/
