source：Creamer Media’s Mining Weekly
London-listed Rainbow Rare Earths has appointed Australian State-owned mineral sciences and services company ANSTO Minerals to advance the flow sheet process optimisation at the Phalaborwa rare earths project, in South Africa.
The completion of ANSTO's project, after which Rainbow will publish a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) or scoping study, is expected to place the company in a strong position to fast-track the project at Phalaborwa, says Rainbow Rare Earths CEO George Bennett.
ANSTO has been engaged to perform scouting leach tests on drill samples from Phalaborwa to confirm the metallurgical variability within the gypsum stacks.
Metallurgical test work will then be carried out to produce an optimised process flow sheet for the PEA or scoping study, based on the original petrochemicals multinational Sasol bankable feasibility study-level flow sheet, which produced 3 t of cerium-depleted mixed rare earth carbonate directly from the gypsum.
ANSTO has been engaged to perform scouting leach tests on drill samples from Phalaborwa to confirm the metallurgical variability within the gypsum stacks.
Metallurgical test work will then be carried out to produce an optimised process flow sheet for the PEA or scoping study, based on the original petrochemicals multinational Sasol bankable feasibility study-level flow sheet, which produced 3 t of cerium-depleted mixed rare earth carbonate directly from the gypsum.