Clean TeQ Enters Partnership for Scandium Alloy Development

Clean TeQ Holdings (TSX:CLQ) has entered into an agreement with Chinalco Materials Application Research Institute (CMARI) and Chongqing University for the development and adoption of scandium alloys in the global transport industry.

The deal establishes a two-year development program that will investigate the functional and commercial benefits of scandium in a range of aluminumalloys currently being used in China’s automotive and aerospace industries.

Scandium alloys are light, strong and durable, making them ideal for the construction of cars, planes, trains and ships. Among other things, they can also be used in a type of 3D printing that creates CAD models entirely of metal. Proponents of scandium alloys argue that they can provide long-lasting benefits for both the global economy and the environment.

Announced on Tuesday (January 31), the proposed program will bring together research and production engineers from Clean TeQ, CMARI (a company affiliated with Aluminium Corporation of China (Chinalco)) and Chongqing University (an institution in the top 1 percent of universities in China, with a strong focus on research and development). They will develop and commercialize scandium-containing alloys.

The team’s main goal is to create the next generation of advanced alloys to be adopted in China’s growing automotive and aerospace sectors. Work will be completed within CMARI’s research and development laboratories in Beijing, as well as at Chongqing University’s School of Materials Science and Engineering. Clean TeQ’s alloy development manager, Dr. Timothy Langan, will assist in the development of test programs and will sit on the steering committee for the partnership.

Clean TeQ CEO Sam Riggall commented, “China is embarking on a radical transformation of its transport sector, the scale of which has no precedent in history.”

He added, “[s]candium allows us to create a new generation of aluminium alloys with unrivalled functionality — alloys that are stronger, lighter, corrosion-resistant and weldable. As the largest resource in the world of this rare metal, Clean TeQ Sunrise will become an important source of global supply for decades to come. We believe our partnership with Chinalco, one of the world’s largest aluminium companies, and Chongqing University, will accelerate the adoption of scandium-containing alloys in China’s transport sector.”

Clean TeQ’s Sunrise project is located in New South Wales, and the company is developing it using its Clean-iX® technology. In addition to being one of the largest and highest-grade scandium deposits in the world, the project is also one of the highest-grade and largest nickel and cobalt deposits outside of Africa.

The company believes Sunrise has the potential to meet a significant portion of global demand for the raw materials needed to help expand the lithium-ion battery industry, and expects it to provide scandium for the production of the next generation of lightweight aluminum alloys. A definitive feasibility study is underway for Sunrise project, and is due for completion in Q1 2018.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Nicole Rashotte, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.