Search Minerals Produces High Purity Mixed Rare Earth Oxide Product from the Pilot Plant Operation
SEARCH MINERALS INC.
# 211, 901 West Third Street, North Vancouver, B.C. V7P 3P9 T (604) 998 -3432 . F (604) 608-5717
www.searchminerals.ca . E [email protected]
NEWS RELEASE
SEARCH MINERALS PRODUCES HIGH PURITY MIXED
RARE EARTH OXIDE PRODUCT FROM THE PILOT PLANT OPERATION
Vancouver, B.C. March 6, 2017 – Search Minerals Inc. (TSXV: SMY) (“Search” or the “Company”) is
pleased to announce the initial results from its pilot plant operation at SGS Laboratories in
Lakefield, Ontario. The pilot plant project has been completed with some further results to be
subsequently released.
After processing over 3.0 tonnes of material representative of the Foxtrot Deposit , the pilot plant
testing has clearly demonstrated the ability to produce a high purity mixed rare earth oxide (REO)
concentrate. In addition, the pilot plant testing has successfully demonstrated the ability to bring
uranium, thorium, zinc, and iron level s below those thresholds expected by refineries that
separate mixed REO concentrates into individual rare earth elements (REEs).
Pilot Plant Highlights:
Processed over 3.0 tonnes of crushed material from the Foxtrot Deposit using the patented
Search Minerals Direct Extraction Process.
Achieved excellent metallurgical results including:
o Average extractions of 85% neodymium (Nd), 86% praseodymium (Pr), 68% dysprosium
(Dy) by acid treatment/water leaching.
o Average Losses of 2% Nd, 2% Pr and 0.3% Dy through iron removal.
o Separation of uranium from the rare earths by ion exchange to below detection limit s in
solution.
o Precipitation of +99.9% of the rare earth elements as a mixed carbonate product containing
~35% total rare earth content. (Average of 5.3% Nd, 1.48% Pr, 0.58% Dy).
o Demonstration of the re -leaching and purification of the mixed carbonate product to
produce REO material for refining with low Th (8.6 g/t), U (<0.5 g/t) and Zn (64 g/t).
o The refining of the mixed rare earth carbonate product was performed in a sulfuric acid
medium with careful control of thorium (precipitation with magnesium carbonate) and zinc
(precipitation with hydrogen sulfide).
o The final product was formed by oxalic acid precipitation and calcination.
Generated engineering data for all parts of the circuit from sample preparation to production of
the mixed rare earth oxide.
Produced environmental samples ( leach residues, precipitates, and barren solutions) for
characterization.
Greg Andrews, President and Chief Executive Officer of Search, states, “The results from the
pilot plant testing conducted at SGS Laboratories in Lakefield, Ontario under the supervision of
Search Vice-President of Metallurgy, Dr. David Dreisinger have exceeded expectations. The
results help support a conclusion that our proprietary ‘Direct Extraction’ metallurgical process
SEARCH MINERALS INC.
# 211, 901 West Third Street, North Vancouver, B.C. V7P 3P9 T (604) 998 -3432 . F (604) 608-5717
www.searchminerals.ca . E [email protected]
can produce a high purity mixed rare earth oxide. Furthermore, based on close attention to
market forecasts, the process has been optimized to significantly increase recoveries for our key
revenue elements, neodymium (Nd) and praseodymium (Pr).”
“We cannot overstate the importance of this achievement,” noted Jim Clucas, Executive
Chairman of Search. “Getting the metallurgy provides greater confidence and is a major
milestone in the advancement of any REE project. It not only takes significant financial
resources but significant management attention. On behalf of the Board and Management of
Search Minerals I would like to thank the NunatuKavut Community Council and all our
shareholders for their ongoing support over the last two years. As well, we’d like to thank the
Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (“ACOA”) and the Research & Development Corporation
of Newfoundland and Labrador (“RDC”) for their contribution of $1.25M towards this $ 1.9M
pilot plant project,” Clucas added.
Further Description of Process and Results
The Search Minerals Direct Extraction Process was tested on a sample of Foxtrot mineralization at
SGS Minerals Lakefield Site. A representative bulk sample of Foxtrot mineralization was prepared
under the supervision of Dr. Randy Miller of Search Minerals for the testing. The mater ial was
crushed to -10 mesh particle size prior to chemical treatment.
The testing process included: (1) extensive bench scale testing of the new sample and optimization
of the chemical conditions for rare earth element recovery from the Foxtrot material, (2) a 5 -day
commissioning campaign in December 2016 to ensure smooth pilot operation, (3) a 10 -day
production campaign in January 2017 from crushed sample to mixed rare earth carbonate and (4) a
4-day refinery campaign to process mixed rare earth carbonat e precipitate to mixed rare earth
oxide.
Primary Leach Circuit
The first part of the pilot plant (to production of mixed rare earth carbonate) included these steps:
1. Acid/sample mixing in a “PUG” mill.
2. Acid/sample heating in the METSO HOLOFLITE system.
3. Holding acid/ sample mixture at temperature in a holding furnace (equivalent to the
insulated discharge hopper in the plant).
4. Water leaching of the acid/sample mixture to dissolve rare earth elements.
5. Iron removal (along with aluminum and thorium) by pH adj ustment wi th magnesium
carbonate addition.
6. Filtration and washing to recover a leach/purification residue and a clean solution carrying
rare earth elements.
7. Removal of uranium by ion exchange.
8. Precipitation of rare earth elements as a mixed carbonate by addition of sodium carbonate.
SEARCH MINERALS INC.
# 211, 901 West Third Street, North Vancouver, B.C. V7P 3P9 T (604) 998 -3432 . F (604) 608-5717
www.searchminerals.ca . E [email protected]
9. Thickening and filtration/washing of the mixed rare earth carbonate. The mixed rare earth
carbonate is held as a wet filter cake ready for the re-leach circuit of the pilot plant , which
was operated as a separate campaign.
The key results of the Primary Leach Circuit of the pilot plant were as follows:
1. Acid bake and water leach extractions with approximately 140 kg of sulfuric acid addition
per tonne of ore.
The acid baking and water leach extractions were reported for the period January 21, 2017
to January 27, 2017 as follows. The average extractions of the critical elements were 85%
for Nd, 86% for Pr and 68% for Dy with several operating periods exceeding 70% Dy.
Extraction (%)
La Ce Pr Nd Sm Eu Gd Tb Dy Ho Y Er Tm Yb Lu Sc Th U
January 21 AM 88 87 87 87 83 77 78 75 73 70 71 67 65 59 55 13 71 55
January 21 PM 89 89 90 89 85 81 80 74 72 70 71 67 65 60 55 15 70 56
January 22 AM 87 87 87 86 83 83 78 73 70 68 69 64 61 58 54 14 64 51
January 22 PM 83 84 94 83 80 80 75 71 70 67 68 65 63 58 53 15 70 51
January 23 AM 84 84 94 84 80 79 74 72 69 67 68 65 63 60 56 17 76 51
January 23 PM 82 83 92 82 81 81 75 70 66 68 65 61 63 57 62 20 77 52
January 24 AM 84 86 95 84 80 79 73 70 65 68 67 59 61 55 51 NA 77 49
January 24 PM 87 88 97 87 83 72 75 73 70 65 67 65 63 56 47 19 82 53
January 25 AM 85 85 85 84 81 80 73 68 63 65 66 63 61 53 41 14 79 47
January 25 PM 87 87 87 86 82 77 75 69 65 62 67 62 60 55 46 13 76 53
January 26 AM 87 87 86 85 80 78 75 71 67 63 68 64 62 59 46 11 77 52
January 26 PM 85 85 85 84 80 74 75 71 68 66 68 64 62 58 51 15 77 49
January 27 AM 87 87 87 86 84 75 77 71 71 65 69 66 63 57 53 18 79 56
Average 86 86 86 85 82 78 75 71 68 67 68 64 62 57 51 11 75 52
2. Iron Removal
The iron removal process is designed to remove the bulk of the iron, aluminum and
thorium from solution by precipitation with magnesium carbonate while minimizing the
losses of rare earths to the iron residue. The average removal efficiency of impu rities was
100% for Fe, 56% for Al and 92% for Th. The losses of rare earths by co -precipitation were
minimal. The overall recoveries of the rare earth elements to solution are summarized
below. The average recoveries were Nd (83%), Pr (84%) and Dy (68%). When compared to
the acid bake and water leach extractions, the losses were 2-3% for Nd-Pr and <1% for Dy.
Recoveries to Solution after Iron Removal (%)
La Ce Pr Nd Sm Eu Gd Tb Dy Ho Y Er Tm Yb Lu
SEARCH MINERALS INC.
# 211, 901 West Third Street, North Vancouver, B.C. V7P 3P9 T (604) 998 -3432 . F (604) 608-5717
www.searchminerals.ca . E [email protected]
Average 84 84 84 83 80 76 75 70 68 65 68 64 60 56 49
3. Uranium Ion Exchange
The uranium ion exchange process selectively removes uranium from the iron free solution
to ensure production of a low uranium mixed rare earth oxide product. The uranium was
removed to below the detection limit in the solution with negligible (<0.1%) loss of rare
earth elements by co-loading with uranium.
4. Precipitation of a Mixed Rare Earth Carbonate Precipitate
The uranium and iron free solution was treated with sodium carbonate solution to
precipitate the rare earths (and any remaining impurities) as a mixed carbonate product.
This process was highly efficient and produced a mixed carbonate product of the analysis
shown below. The first table shows the rare earth composition of the precipitate. The
second table shows the remaining contaminants in the precipitate that must be removed in
the refining process (the second part of the Search Minerals Direct Extraction Process).
Average Analysis of the Rare Earth Carbonate Precipitate (%)
La Ce Pr Nd Sm Eu
G
d Tb Dy Ho Y Er Tm Yb Lu
Averag
e
5.8
3
12.5
4
1.4
8
5.3
2
0.9
3
0.0
5
0.
7
0.
1
0.5
8
0.1
1
2.8
5
0.
3
0.0
4
0.2
3
0.0
3
Average Impurity Analysis of the Rare Earth Carbonate Precipitate
Th U Si Al Fe Mg Ca Mn Cr Be Zn
(g/t) (g/t) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%)
Average 199 1 5.49 5.89 0.34 0.48 1.08 0.35 0.03 0.12 3.1
5. Re-Leach and Refining
The second part of the pilot plant program processed the mixed rare earth carbonate
product to form a mixed rare earth oxide.
The steps in this process were:
1. Re-leach the mixed carbonate in a weak sulfuric acid solution (change from former
practice of using hydrochloric acid).
2. Adjust the pH of the solution to remove Fe, Al, Th to low levels.
3. Filter the solid residue produced by the pH adjustment. Note that some REEs a re
precipitated in this process but we have shown on the bench that we can treat this residue
with strong acid and recycle to the first part of the plant (current operation) with negligible
losses of REE’s.
SEARCH MINERALS INC.
# 211, 901 West Third Street, North Vancouver, B.C. V7P 3P9 T (604) 998 -3432 . F (604) 608-5717
www.searchminerals.ca . E [email protected]
4. Removal of zinc by sulfide precipitation to produce a 63% Zn stream.
5. Precipitation of REE’s by oxalic acid addition to form insoluble RE oxalates.
6. Filtration and washing of RE Oxalates.
7. Calcine the RE Oxalates to produce the ~99% pure produce with low impurity content for
refining.
The re-leaching and pH adjustment process was effective at red issolving the rare earth
elements from the mixed carbonate and precipitating the iron, aluminum and thorium to
low levels using magnesium carbonate. This process was done with sulfuric acid addition in
order to remove the use of hydrochloric acid from the Search Minerals Direct Extraction
Process.
The precipitate recovered from this part of the process still carries high rare earth values which
must be recovered and recycled to the first part of the Search process for recovery. The initial
testing of the re -leaching of this precipitate has shown that high extractions (and therefore
negligible losses) of rare earth elements can be obtained. Further bench scale work on this
precipitate treatment is be ing performed by SGS Minerals to confirm the high extractions and
negligible losses.
The removal of zinc from solution by hydrogen sulfide precipitation was very effective to
producing a low zinc solution composition for the oxalic acid precipitation step.
The initial recovery of a mixed rare earth oxide by oxalic acid precipitation and calcination has
confirmed the production of a high grade mixed rare earth oxide product containing low Th
(8.6 g/t), U (<0.5 g/t) and Zn (64 g/t) for refining to individual rare earth elements.
Qualified Person:
Dr. David Dreisinger, Ph.D., P .Eng., is the Company's Vice President, Metallurgy and Qualified
Person for the purposes of NI 43 -101. Dr. Dreisinger has reviewed and approved the t echnical
disclosure contained in this news release as applicable. The company will endeavour to meet high
standards of integrity, transparency, and consistency in reporting technical content, including
geological and assay (e.g., REE) data.
About Search Minerals Inc.
Led by a proven management team and board of directors, Search is focused on finding and developing
resources within the emerging Port Hope Simpson Critical Rare Earth Element (CREE) District of SE Labrador.
The Company controls a belt 70 km long and 8 km wide including its 100% interest in the FOXTROT Project
which is road accessible and at tidewater. Exploration efforts have advanced “Deepwater Fox” and “Fox
Meadow” as significant new CREE prospects very similar and in close pr oximity to the original FOXTROT
discovery. While the Company has identified more than 20 other prospects in the District, its primary
SEARCH MINERALS INC.
# 211, 901 West Third Street, North Vancouver, B.C. V7P 3P9 T (604) 998 -3432 . F (604) 608-5717
www.searchminerals.ca . E [email protected]
objective remains development of FOXTROT by confirming proprietary processing technology at the pilot
plant level (in pro gress) and delineation of prospects that will ensure competitive -low cost production
beyond the 14-year mine life contemplated in the Preliminary Economic Assessment of FOXTROT completed
in April 2016. The FOXTROT Project has a low capital cost to bring t he initial project into production ($152
M), a short payback period and is scalable due to Search’s proprietary processing technology.
All material information on the Company may be found on its website at
www.searchminerals.ca and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com
About neo-CREOs (Adamas Intelligence – December 2016)
We consider neodymium, praseodymium, and dysprosium to be neo -CREOs because there is a high
probability they will be in short supply by 2025, and they are vital to NdFeB magnets used widely in
renewable power generation, electric mobility, and energy -efficient technologies. We consider terbium to
be a neo-CREO because upon experiencing shortages of dysprosium, consumers in the magnet industry will
rapidly consume available terbium supplies in its place for applications involving renewable power
generation, electric mobility and energy efficient technologies. Lanthanum is considered a neo -CREO
because there is a high probability it will be in short supply by 2025 and because it is widely used in catalytic
converters and rechargeable batteries, and will be increasingly used as a thermal stabilizer by producers of
poly-vinyl chloride (PVC) t o minimize lead consumption and improve the energy efficiency o f PVC and
other processing equipment.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in
the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this
release.
For further information, please contact:
Greg Andrews
President and CEO
Tel: 604 998-3432 Ext 2
E-mail: [email protected]
Paul Snow
Investor Relations
Tel: 709 753-0794
E-mail: [email protected]
CAUTIONARY STATEMENTS
Regarding “Forward-Looking” Information.
This news release includes certain “forward-looking information” and “forward-looking statements” (collectively
"forward-looking statements”) within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities
legislation including the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other
than statements of historical fact, includ ed herein, without limitation, statements relating the future operating
or financial performance of the Company, are forward-looking statements.
SEARCH MINERALS INC.
# 211, 901 West Third Street, North Vancouver, B.C. V7P 3P9 T (604) 998 -3432 . F (604) 608-5717
www.searchminerals.ca . E [email protected]
Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as “expects”, “anticipates”,
“believes”, “intends”, “estimates”, “potential”, “possible”, and similar expressions, or statements that events,
conditions, or results “will”, “may”, “could”, or “should” occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements in
this news release relate to, among other things future events or the Company’s future performance, business
prospects or opportunities. Actual future results may differ materially. There can be no assurance that such
statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those
anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions and projections on the
date the statements are made and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while
considered reasonable by the respective parties, are inherently subject to significant business, economic,
competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, both known and unknown,
could cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results,
performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and
the parties have made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors
include, without limitation, general business, economic and social uncertainties; litigation, legislative,
environmental and other judicial, regulatory, political and competitive developments; and those additional risks
set out in Search’s public documents filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Although Search believes that the
assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance
should not be placed on these statements, which only apply as of the date of this news release and no
assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. Except where required
by law, Search disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether
as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.