OP FOCUS- LITHIUM STAMPEDE_proof 26/07/2016 10:45 Page 5
PROJECT FOCUS
preferred over other lithium alternatives in glassceramic products for technical reasons, notably
its consistently low impurity levels.”
The petalite in the deposit contains very low
levels of impurities, also offering potential for a
high purity lithium chemical product at a
relatively low-cost, to serve the needs of lithium
ion re-chargeable battery manufacturers.
Avalon says: “Growing demand for rechargeable
batteries in electric vehicles and home energy
storage is expected to result in continued rapid
growth in global consumption of lithium. Many
industry analysts are predicting that the demand
for lithium will double over the next five to ten
years, creating a supply deficit, as existing
producers struggle to meet the new demand.”
Diamond drilling delineated an Indicated
petalite resource of 8.9 Mt and an Inferred
petalite resource of 2.7 Mt, with both resources
grading 1.34% Li2O, 0.007% Ta2O5 and 0.30%
Rb2O. This resource was defined over a strike
length of 600 m and to a vertical depth of 250 m.
It remains open for expansion to depth and along
strike. The lithium grades are consistent with a
petalite content averaging about 25%. The
mineralised zone is well exposed at surface in a
low dome-shaped hill, where it averages 55 m in
width over a 400 m strike length.
It is an advanced project at pilot plant stage,
preparing for full-scale demonstration plant and
feasibility study. It is expected to start as an
open-pit mine, potentially
transitioning to
underground mining in
later years. Mined ore will
be crushed and processed
at site to produce a
petalite concentrate. This
petalite will either be sold
directly into the ceramics
industry or transported to
a new refinery for the
production of lithium
compounds
predominantly for the
battery and energy
storage industries. Next steps:
n Demonstration plant to produce 800 t of
petalite product for glass-ceramic production
trials (finance depending)
n Conduct further process development work on
recovering lithium chemicals, leading to a PEA
n 2016 summer exploration drilling program to
delineate additional lithium resources
n Investigate alternatives for delivery of clean,
low-cost power to the project site.
Engineering work continues for the PEA, which
is currently scheduled for completion this
summer. Avalon is advancing capital and
operating cost estimates and evaluating various
production scenarios. Samples of products from
the flotation plant process have been sent for
environmental testing as
part of the project
permitting process.
Following the
completion of the PEA
Visit u
sa
this summer, Avalon
ExpoM t
Booth ina
intends to proceed into
#B-161
a full feasibility study
and environmental
assessment work with a
target date for
completion in Q2 2017.
Avalon continues to
investigate the
possibility of developing
a clean, low cost ‘run-ofriver’ hydro-power
supply to the mine site
with potential
Bits
Mining
development partners.
Rods
Construction
Couplings
Quarrying
At least three sites have
Shanks
Tunneling
been identified along
DTH
Water-well
the English River near
®
the deposit that offer
R o c k M o r e®
International
this potential.
Rock Drilling Tools
Lithium
Wilsonville, Oregon USA
Judenburg, Austria
hydrometallurgical
Tel +1 (503) 682-1001
Tel +43 3572-86300
process development
[email protected][email protected]
work is underway at the
facilities of Thibault and
Drill
More
with RockMore
18 International Mining | AUGUST 2016
The 100% owned Separation Rapids property
lies some 70 km by road north of Kenora,
Ontario. The main line of the Canadian Pacific
Railway passes through the City of Kenora, south
of the property, while CN Rail passes through the
small community of Redditt, also south of the
property. Mineral tenure for the resource is held
under a 421 ha mining lease
Associates in New Brunswick, using a bulk
concentrate sample produced in the winter.
Thibault are experts in applied process chemical
engineering, with considerable experience in rare
metals including lithium.
The focus of the hydrometallurgical process
development is to produce a lithium hydroxide
product from a petalite concentrate suitable for
use in lithium ion batteries. Preliminary work
demonstrated that this product could be
achieved employing a flowsheet using sulp huric
acid as the primary solvent.
Recent work has successfully produced a very
high purity lithium sulphate solution from the
petalite concentrate. This is currently being
converted to lithium hydroxide solution via an
established electrolysis process using another
service provider. Preliminary observations
indicate a lithium hydroxide conversion efficiency
matching, and possibly exceeding, original
expectations.
Alternative processes and technologies in key
aspects of the proposed flowsheet include the
use of fluidised bed roasting in place of
conventional processing via rotary kilns. This
technology offers significant reductions in energy
requirements as well as better operating control.
Other potential opportunities for optimisation
were also identified with regard to up-front ore
sorting, modularised flotation plant design and
acid roasting equipment.
Avalon has been active in finalising the
logistics for piloting the complete process
flowsheet from optical ore sorting through to
battery grade lithium hydroxide production. To
this end, Avalon is in discussion with vendors and
technology centres both in Europe and North
America and plans to proceed with these
programs later in 2016. IM