Published: December 2, 2020 |

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Commerce Resources Corp. has initiated a metallurgical program to produce a high-grade rare earth element (REE) mineral concentrate to satisfy a processor’s request. The mineral concentrate will be produced from the Ashram Rare Earth and Fluorspar Deposit using the conventional recovery flowsheet developed at Hazen Research in Colorado.

The Ashram Deposit’s flowsheet has undergone significant development, including front-end piloting of the grinding, flotation, and leach circuits. The production of the requested mineral concentrate sample is expected to utilize the leach residue that was generated from this piloting completed in late 2015. The leach residue will be processed through the final magnetic separation stage to obtain the desired mineral concentrate grade (i.e. a high-grade monazite mineral concentrate). Following the production of this sample, the company intends to continue to produce mineral concentrate for downstream processing, including piloting, to various mixed and partially separated rare earth products to satisfy other third-party sample requests.

The Ashram Deposit is one of only a select group of deposits in development globally that can produce mineral concentrate at high recovery (>70 percent) and high grade (>40 percent REO). All of the major hard rock REE miners globally produce mineral concentrates of at least 40 percent REO, which are then used for downstream processing to marketable products. Such high grades of mineral concentrate considerably reduce the downstream processing cost and risk through lower reagent use, fewer deleterious elements entering solution, and a smaller hydromet plant requirement by comparison.

The company has successfully produced mineral concentrates from the Ashram Deposit exceeding 46 percent REO at >70 percent recovery using a conventional flowsheet approach of flotation, leaching, and magnetic separation. The third-party request to receive such a sample from Ashram is significant for several reasons.

First, it is uncommon for mineral concentrates to be marketable outside of China, as the base saleable product is typically a downstream mixed rare earth carbonate or similar, which is the base feedstock to most REE separation facilities globally. Secondly, if successful and the company is able to directly market a mineral concentrate without the need for a downstream hydromet facility in place, this would allow for a quicker path to production at significantly lower CAPEX and reduced technical risk. Further, it would allow for the downstream high-value product suite envisioned by the company, which requires a hydrometallurgical facility, to be partially funded with cash flow from mineral concentrate production. As the Ashram Deposit is open-pittable and one of the largest rare earth deposits in the world, it has significant flexibility in production capacity and ability to service both upstream and downstream rare earth product suites.

As an additional benefit, the company will also produce a fluorspar concentrate as the tailings to the REE recovery circuit. This will allow for further testwork to upgrade the fluorspar concentrate, expected to initially grade ~80 percent CaF2 in the tailings product, to acid-spar. By producing a tailings product of value, the company is also helping to do its part in advancing the circular economy, specifically in Quebec, where a significant amount of fluorspar is consumed in the aluminum industry, among others.

About Commerce Resources Corp.
Commerce Resources Corp. is an exploration and development company with a particular focus on deposits of rare metals and rare earth elements. The company is focused on the development of its Ashram Rare Earth Element Deposit in Quebec and the Upper Fir Tantalum-Niobium Deposit in British Columbia.

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