Progress Report on Metallurgical Process Development Work on the Nechalacho Rare Earth Elements Deposit, Thor Lake, NWT
Toronto, Aug 8, 2012 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Avalon Rare Metals Inc. (
TSE:AVL) (NYSE:AVL) is pleased to provide the following progress report on its ongoing metallurgical process development work on its Nechalacho Rare Earth Elements ("REE") Deposit and announces the appointment of Mr. Dave Marsh as Senior Vice President, Metallurgy, to lead the Company's metallurgical work programs going forward.
1. Senior Vice President, Metallurgy
Dave Marsh, FAusIMM (CP), brings almost 30 years of experience in the metallurgical and mineral processing industries. He has worked in Africa, Australia and Canada. Much of his experience has been in the engineering and technical side of the business and this is complemented by several years in operations. A native of the United Kingdom, Mr. Marsh received his B.Sc (Hon.) in Mineral Processing from the University of Leeds, England in 1980.
Dave's previous positions include senior management roles in process design and implementation, particularly with heavy minerals, gold and platinum group metals as well as development of state-of-the-art uranium recovery plants. He has also managed engineering design, project teams, bankable feasibility studies and project implementation with large EPCM (Engineering, Procurement, Construction & Management) companies.
As Senior Vice President, Metallurgy, Dave assumes a critical role leading all aspects of metallurgical process development work on the Nechalacho project and on Avalon's other development stage rare metals and minerals projects.
2. Flotation Plant
Since the pilot plant trial completed in February 2012, investigations have focused largely on rationalising the flotation reagent suite. Avalon is pleased to report that this has been successful, with notable reductions in the number of required reagents and, more importantly, reduced consumption forecasts. Bench-scale flotation testwork continues with the objective of achieving further efficiencies in the process and the overall goal of reduced operating costs.
Progress has also been made in understanding the flotation characteristics of material from different parts of the Basal Zone and the impact of observed textural differences in the ore on flotation recoveries. Furthermore, opportunities for reducing REE and niobium losses from the de-sliming circuit through the use of more selective reagents have been identified and these will be investigated over the next few months.
All these improvements, developed in the laboratory since February are to be tested in a follow-up pilot plant trial scheduled to commence in late August or early September.
3. Hydrometallurgical Plant
The hydrometallurgical pilot plant trial on the sample of mineral concentrate obtained from last winter's flotation pilot plant trial commenced in mid-July and is expected to run through August. This trial will test the acid bake process (which uses sulphuric acid) and the results from this program will confirm the process design criteria for the hydrometallurgical plant to be used in the Definitive Feasibility Study.
The acid bake process produces an intermediate mixed REE concentrate (the "Concentrate") and a refractory solid residue (the "Residue"). The Concentrate contains most of the Light REE and over 50% of the Heavy REE ("HREE"), and will be delivered to the separation plant for further processing and refining to produce purified, separated rare earth oxides. The Residue from the acid bake process contains the balance of the rare earths and most of the zircon, niobium and tantalum contained in the mineral concentrate.
Treatment of the Residue requires a more aggressive form of processing to dissolve the zirconium, tantalum and niobium minerals. The conventional process to achieve this is referred to as "cracking" and two cracking alternatives have been evaluated; caustic cracking and alkali cracking. Both alternatives are costly to design and build.
The caustic cracking process was originally incorporated by the Company in its pre-feasibility study and has been successfully tested at the laboratory scale. However the Company is presently evaluating other alternatives to cracking to reduce costs and the risk of delays to the project schedule. These include hydrochloric acid ("HCl") leaching or sale of the Residue as a zircon mineral concentrate to a zirconium processor. Several expressions of interest in this product have already been received from potential buyers.
President and CEO, Don Bubar commented "Dropping the cracking process from the current development model offers several advantages for the project in terms of simplifying operations and reducing capital requirements, while maintaining positive project economics. However, Avalon will continue to investigate the cracking alternatives with a view toward its future incorporation into the project once we have commenced operations."
Bench scale testwork is in progress with the objective of optimizing the acid bake process flowsheet wherever possible. For example, recent work has identified a simpler, more efficient process for removing impurities from the Concentrate which, once proven, would positively impact both capital and operating costs as well as plant operability.
4. Separation Plant
A Scope of Work has been developed for confirming the separation plant flowsheet and proposals are being acquired globally from various research laboratories. This work is expected to begin in October 2012.
Evaluation of potential sites for the Separation Plant continues, with a final decision on the site for the Separation Plant expected before the end of 2012.
The qualified persons for the purpose of this news release are Dezhi Qi, P.Eng. (Ont, AB), Dave Marsh, FAusIMM (CP), and Donald Bubar, P.Geo. (Ont).
About Avalon Advanced Materials Inc
Avalon Advanced Materials Inc. (TSE:AVL) (OTCMKTS:AVLNF) (formerly Avalon Rare Metals) is a Canadian mineral development company specializing in niche market metals and minerals with growing demand in new technology. The Company has three advanced stage projects, all 100%-owned, providing investors with exposure to lithium, tin and indium, as well as rare earth elements, tantalum, niobium, and zirconium. Avalon is currently focusing on its Separation Rapids Lithium Project, Kenora, ON and its East Kemptville Tin-Indium Project, Yarmouth, NS. Social responsibility and environmental stewardship are corporate cornerstones.
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