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Texas Rare Earth Resources (OTCQX:TRER) reported that using the K-Technologies Inc. continuous ion chromatography methodology, it has removed cerium and lanthanum from a purified pregnant leach solution feedstock in a low-cost manner. The product may be processed to make a commercially marketable mid/heavy rare earth mixed concentrate.
Texas Rare Earth Resources (OTCQX:TRER) reported that using the K-Technologies Inc. continuous ion chromatography methodology, it has removed cerium and lanthanum from a purified pregnant leach solution feedstock in a low-cost manner. The product may be processed to make a commercially marketable mid/heavy rare earth mixed concentrate.
As quoted in the press release:
The overall rare earth recovery process will be carried out in three stages. Stage 1 separates the rare earths as a single group from the bulk of the impurities in the PLS, which is made by irrigating the crushed ore with dilute sulfuric acid. The stage 2 section then processes the mixed rare earth solution from stage 1 to separate the rare earths as groups or product stream branches, e.g. heavies, mids, and lights. After removing the lanthanum/cerium the resultant concentrate could be marketed or further split into the mid and heavy branches. Finally in stage 3, the solution streams produced from stage 2 are further refined to separate the individual rare earths from each other to produce a selected slate of high purity products. Because of the flexibility of the CIC process, individual elements can be sequentially “campaigned” through the same equipment and resin, eliminating the need for a separate product line for each, as is the case with solvent extraction.
The Stage 1 processing, accomplished in January 2015, separated the REE’s from the pregnant leach solution (PLS), resulting in a relatively pure, concentrated mixed rare earths feedstock solution at flow rates suitable for feeding to either a solvent extraction (SX) plant or, as planned by TRER, to a CIC plant. Uranium in the sulfate feedstock solution was not detected by ICP-MS (Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry) analysis, inferring that neither it nor the chemically similar thorium sulfate is captured in Stage 1 and does not enter the REE processing plant.
The first part of stage 2 refining has now been achieved. This involved the splitting of the feedstock solution from Stage 1 into two parts: (a) a low value branch consisting of lanthanum and cerium that could be warehoused, or sold at a discount; and (b) a high value branch consisting of the remaining rare earths profile (plus yttrium),which can be further refined.
Texas Rare Earth Resources CEO, Dan Gorski, said:
Removing the low value lanthanum and cerium at an early stage with minimal separation effort bodes well for the overall efficiency and economy of this process and also provides us the option of making a marketable, praseodymium/neodymium plus mid/heavy rare earth concentrate. We intend to examine the economic possibilities of producing and marketing such a concentrate. However, our primary objective over the short term is to use the CIC process to further refine the MH concentrate and to produce individual high purity REE products that meet all commercial specifications.
Click here to read the Texas Rare Earth Resources (OTCQX:TRER) press release
