Commercial High Purity MgO Plant
Features
- Low cost, novel, chlorine free, virtually zero waste, hydrometallurgical process
- 30,000 tpa high purity MgO
- 33,000 tpa high purity amorphous silica
- 5,200 tpa (dry basis) iron / nickel residue
- No environmental evaluation required
Commercial Plant - Target 2019-2020
- Business Case is viable on a stand-alone basis and does not rely on Mg metal production
Status
- Piloting at CIMMS in Asbestos, QC
HYDROMETALLURGICAL PILOT PLANT
Phase I: 100 kg/hr Pilot Plant in operation
- Serpentinite to aqueous Mg compound
- High purity amorphous silica produced for qualification & off-take agreements
- Purity exceeds lab tests
Phase II: Pilot Plant Q1 2018
- Mg compound to high purity MgO for qualification & off-take agreements
PRODUCTS FROM MgO PLANT
High Purity Magnesium Oxide (HP MgO)
- Selling Price: US$600-900/tonne
- Minimum 98.5% purity
- Offtake partners already identified and awaiting material to qualify from pilot plant
- Market demand confirmed (USGS)
- US 2015 consumption 333,000 tonnes MgO*
- US 2016 imports 183,000 tonnes MgO*
- Applications include: flame retardant in plastics, cables; steel fluxing; additive for rubber, cement, wastewater treatment
HHigh Value Amorphous Silica
- Selling Price: US$200-$250/tonne
- High surface area – unique properties
- Replacement for silica fume in high performance concrete, polymers & rubber
- Global silica fume market: 1.1M tonnes/year*
- Qualification partners identified early on given timeframe to certify product (ex. 2-3 years for concrete)
