Backed by more than 20 years’ experience, Core Resources has unveiled its learnings to help the growing critical minerals sector.
Core’s metallurgical laboratories were established in Queensland in 1982, and for at least the past two decades they have been designing complex integrated process pilot plants covering a wide range of mineral and hydrometallurgical processes.
Core’s Chair Jon Loraine said the team’s experience has resulted in significant trials and subsequent break-throughs when it comes to metallurgy for critical minerals projects.
“Obviously the world needs more critical minerals to cater for global population growth and the clean energy transition, however metallurgical processes are critically different to more conventional base or precious metal projects,” Mr Lorraine said.
“For developers taking on critical minerals’ projects, it is helpful to get the metallurgy right first as it’s not about mining, it’s about chemical process engineering.
“Processing makes up about 50 per cent of the cost for producing a simpler base or precious metal project, however with critical mineral processing a clear understanding of the mineral processing and refining costs – including reagent consumption – needs to be understood.
“Along with the feed grade, the processing costs – which can be many multiples of the mining costs – will drive project economics, not the mining costs.”
To achieve full value-capture in critical minerals, Mr Loraine said purities of 99.9-99.99 per cent were needed in critical minerals production too, compared to pure base metal concentrates of 25-50 per cent or 85-90 per cent pure for Gold Doré.
Here are Core Resources’ top five tips for developing critical minerals projects:
- Get the metallurgy right early on, or the costs could come as a surprise.
- Understand the product specifications requirements. Products today didn’t exist 20 to 50 years ago.
- Know your markets. Pricing power is in the hands of the buyer.
- There is a need for innovation, and new ways for purifying and refining such as Core-IPEX ion exchange technologies.
- Deal with impurities correctly. Don’t let minor contaminants become a problem.