The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Sorted by date Results 101 - 125 of 229
Ucore Rare Metals Inc. Nov. 16 provided an update on the design and construction of the SuperLig 1 rare earth separation pilot plant. "This is a significant pilot plant, with a total capital outlay in excess of US$3 million and a footprint anticipated to occupy the approximate space of a few tractor trailers," explained Ucore President and CEO Jim McKenzie. The initial purpose of the plant is to confirm the effectiveness of molecular recognition technology in the separation of rare earth elements at bulk scale. The MRT...
Ucore Rare Metals Inc. Dec. 14 reported that a foreign investment fund has agreed to pay US$5 million (roughly C$6.9 million) in consideration for a royalty or profit share on the sale of products and services related to the processing of rare earth elements and other specialty metals using SuperLig® molecular recognition technology. SuperLig is an innovative method of separating rare earths using resins designed to bind selectively with ions based on multiple parameters such as size, chemistry, and geometry. In March,...
Ucore Rare Metals Inc. Jan 15 said two U. S.-based investors have exercised their right to convert their investments in a royalty related to the processing of rare earth elements and other specialty metals into common shares of the company. The royalty would have been paid on sales and income associated with the Ucore's first installation utilizing molecular recognition technology. The US$5.3 million the investors paid for the royalties will be converted at a rate of C25 cents per Ucore share, resulting in a total of...
Ucore Rare Metals Inc. Feb. 17 reported that its SuperLig®-One rare earth separation pilot plant, currently being constructed in Utah by IBC Advanced Technologies Inc., is expected to be completed and ready for initial fluid testing in March. Roughly 40 metric tons of material sourced from Ucore's Bokan-Dotson Ridge property in Southeast Alaska was processed at Tomra Systems ASA in Germany utilizing dual energy x-ray transmission ore sorting technology. This process, which represents the first step in Ucore's process flowshee...
Ucore Rare Metals Inc. April 4 said it appointed Jack Lifton to its advisory board. In this role, Lifton will be consulting exclusively to Ucore in matters related to rare earths, including resource securement, production, and offtake agreements. Educated as a physical chemist specializing in high-temperature metallurgy, Lifton is a consultant, author and lecturer on the market fundamentals of technology metals, including rare earth elements, lithium, platinum group metals, and other core technology metals. He has more than...
Ucore Rare Metals Inc. May 24 reported that a SuperLig®-One rare earth elements separation pilot plant at its Bokan Mountain - Dotson Ridge project in Southeast Alaska has separated nearly pure scandium from other minerals found in the deposit. Scandium is a highly valued REE used in making advanced aluminum alloys. Scandium imparts added strength, increased corrosion resistance, greater heat tolerance, and improved weldability to aluminum alloys. Its electrical and heat-stabilizing qualities also make it desirable for use in...
Ucore Rare Metals Inc. May 9 reported that the SuperLig-One rare earth element separation pilot plant has successfully created 99 percent pure rare earths from a pregnant leach solution derived from the company's Bokan-Dotson Ridge project in Southeast Alaska. SuperLig-One, designed and constructed by Utah-based IBC Advanced Technologies Inc., utilizes a highly-selective process known as molecular recognition technology to isolate rare earth elements suspended in a solution. During the initial stage of testing the pilot...
Ucore Rare Metals Inc. July 5 said the SuperLig-One rare earth element separation pilot plant has further broken down heavy rare earths derived from the Bokan-Dotson Ridge project in Southeast Alaska into two subgroups - samarium-dysprosium and holmium-lutetium. The company reports that greater than 99 percent purity and recovery was achieved for both subgroups. This high level of both purity and recovery is attributed to the molecular recognition technology being employed by the SuperLig-One pilot plant that was designed...
Ucore Rare Metals Inc. July 18 said it has partnered with an undisclosed major Alberta oil sands producer to recover rare earth elements and other technology metals from Alberta oil sands operations. "This high profile project truly shows the versatility of SuperLig across a diverse range of feed-stock alternatives, including not just in-situ mining facilities, but process-flow and tailings management facilities as well," said Ucore President and CEO Jim McKenzie. "The substantial production volumes available through oil...
With immense sadness, Ucore Rare Metals Inc. Aug. 2 reported the sudden passing of COO Ken Collison, a mining engineer highly regarded both professionally and personally. "Ken was a towering figure in the mine engineering industry," said Ucore President and CEO Jim McKenzie. "His outstanding successes at Ucore, Coeur Alaska, Crandon Mining, and Blue Pearl Mining/Thompson Creek speak to the diversity of his accomplishments in developing best-of-breed mining and minerals processing facilities." As COO of Blue Pearl...
Many were skeptical of Ucore Rare Metals Inc.’s claims that it had identified a technology that would revolutionize the way the notoriously tightly interlocked rare earth elements are separated. Less than two years later, however, the mineral explorer turned innovator has quieted some of this doubt by separating the most critical rare earth – dysprosium – from a solution derived from its Bokan Mountain REE project in Southeast Alaska. Ucore achieved this feat with the help...
As tangible buoyancy returns to the mining industry, I began to wonder if any of the multitude of forecasters had actually predicted the recent return of stronger metals prices. Since most "forecasters" are actually "hindsighters," I was drawn to a November 2013 summary of gold mines by Roy Sebag of Natural Resource Holdings. The summary, entitled "Global Gold Mines & Deposits 2013 Ranking," indicated that we were nearing peak gold production because the total in-situ ounces...
Ucore Rare Metals Inc. Sept. 26 said an independent third-party review has confirmed previously reported operational success of the SuperLig-One pilot plant near Salt Lake City, Utah. Under the observation of Ed Bentzen of Resource Development Inc., a pregnant leach solution from the Bokan Dotson-Ridge project in Southeast Alaska was submitted to the SuperLig-One purification circuit. Under Bentzen's direction, output samples from the circuit, containing purified dysprosium, were then analyzed by both an independent...
Although news from the mining industry is generally limited this time of year, several items of import over the past month bear discussion. Alaska suffered a tragedy with the recent passing of mineral industry giant Chuck Hawley, one of Alaska's most talented and respected geologists. Although Chuck loved the mineral exploration game, he was far more than a geologist to many of us and to the state. His plus-50-year love affair with Alaska spanned some of the state's most...
If you have ever played or followed sporting events, you are probably familiar with that bizarre and often game-changing event known as the "change of momentum". This is when the team that was on the ropes suddenly comes to life and often roars to victory, putting smiles on the faces of coaches, fans and bookies alike. Well, unless I am mistaken, the Alaska mining industry has been the beneficiary of just such a change of momentum over the past month. After taking head shots...
Though lower metals prices weighed on the value of Alaska’s mining sector, the production of minerals, not including coal and oil, in the 49th State topped US$3 billion for the sixth year running. According to the United States Geological Survey’s annual report, “Mineral Commodity Summaries 2016,” Alaska mines produced roughly US$3.09 billion worth of non-fuel minerals during 2015. This reflects roughly a 12 percent decrease compared with the US$3.51 billion that USGS reporte...
Most of Alaska is now enjoying a warm, early spring, allowing field programs to get off to an quicker start this year. While budgets are still tight, interest in Alaska projects has steadily increased as the mining and metals markets slowly recover from a four-year slowdown. Current estimates for 2016 exploration expenditures are looking like they will end up in the US$50 million to US$60 million range, down from the US$75 million range of last year but less precipitous than...
With metal prices stabilizing, physical stockpiles dwindling and demand again on the rise, things are beginning to look up for the beleagered mining industry. Gold's performance over the past several months is a case in point. The World Gold Council reported that during the first quarter, buying of exchange-traded gold funds rose to its highest level since early 2009, wiping out the deep sell-offs of 2014 and 2015 for this instrument. Uncertainties in the fiscal stability of...
As a follow-up to last month's realization that once again "the game is afoot" in the mining industry, major gold producer Goldcorp recently presented some arresting statistics at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Metals, Mining and Steel Conference. The presentation showed gold discovery and production information for the global mining industry that indicated that peak gold discovery occurred in 1995, this despite three periods between 1995 and 2015 when exploration...
Ucore Rare Metals Inc. June 7 reported that the SuperLig-One pilot plant has successfully separated the heavy rare earth elements and light REE contained in a pregnant leach solution derived from the company's Bokan-Dotson Ridge project in Southeast Alaska. In two previous stages of testing, the pilot plant removed the impurity metals from the solution and then separated scandium as individual element exceeding 99 percent purity. In the latest circuit, the plant separated the...
Ucore Rare Metals Inc. April 5 reported that pre-commissioning of the SuperLig®-One rare earth elements separation pilot plant is nearly complete, and the commissioning phase was scheduled to begin later in the week. The pre-commissioning included the testing of automation and fluid circuits; quality assurance certification of the SuperLig® resins to be used in the plant; analysis of the pregnant leach solution to be used during the commissioning phase of the plant; and testin...
As in the recent past, the state of the world's exploration industry was summarized in SNL Metal & Mining's annual "Corporate Exploration Strategies" publication, released at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada convention in Toronto earlier this month. Not surprisingly, it painted a grim picture of 2015, the worst year for exploration since 2009. The statistics indicate that worldwide exploration expenditures declined a further 19 percent to $9.2 billion...
Will the rare earth elements separation technology that Ucore Rare Metals Inc. has been endeavoring to develop during the past two years revolutionize the recovery of these minerals crucial to modern technology? With the completion of the SuperLig®-One rare earth separation pilot plant, the answer to that question draws nigh. The pilot plant, designed and constructed by Utah-based IBC Advanced Technologies Inc., utilizes a highly-selective process known as molecular...
Although there is plenty of Alaska mining industry news this month, the big dog in the pen is the dramatic and unexpected run-up in the price of gold, which moved from a low of $1,078 per ounce to a high of $1,246/oz., most of which occurred after Feb. 1. Although profit-taking and other factors have caused the price to back off a bit, the move was both dramatic and unexpected. As you might guess, the ether is full of talking heads telling us why it went up, why it either won'...
As the curtain rings down on 2015, the sound of clapping and cheering can already be heard from the mining industry as it anticipates the end of a largely depressing year which started out looking like the long-awaited industry recovery was going to happen but in the end, did not. The uncertainty brought on by this year's unsettling events was front and center in a recent round-table discussion hosted by Northern Miner, sponsored by PearTree Securities and entitled "New...
