Engineering News

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Montreal-based rare earth project developer Critical Elements on Tuesday said it had struck an accord with explorer Monarques Resources to sell a 50% interest in the Croinor property, near Val-d’Or, Quebec, for several properties located in the James Bay area and shares.

Critical Elements would receive the Amiral, Arques, Bourier, Caumont, Dumulon, Duval, Lemare, Nisk, Rosebay and Valiquette properties, in James Bay, and 500 000 common shares of Monarques Resources at a deemed price of $0.15 apiece.

The offer was subject to regulatory and court approval.

Critical Elements is developing its 100%-owned Rose lithium/tantalum flagship project, in Quebec.

Electric- and hybrid-vehicle adoption was on the rise, as well as energy-storage projects in Asia, which created an enormous demand for high-purity lithium. As with a number of minor metals, new technologies, leading to the miniaturisation of electronic devices, had resulted in increased use of tantalum. Tantalum-based capacitors, in particular, were on the rise and were increasingly used in automotive electronics, mobile phones, personal computers and wireless devices.

A recent financial analysis of the Rose project based on price forecasts of 118/lb for tantalum pentoxide (Ta₂O₅) contained in a tantalite concentrate and $6 000/t for lithium carbonate (Li₂CO₃) showed an estimated after-tax internal rate of return (IRR) of 25% for the Rose project, with an estimated net present value (NPV) of C$279-million at an 8% discount rate.

The payback period was estimated at 4.1 years. The pre-tax IRR was estimated at 33% and the NPV at C$488-million at a discount rate of 8%.

The operation was scheduled to produce 26 606 t of high purity (99.9% battery grade) Li₂CO₃ and 206 670 lb of Ta₂O₅ a year over a 17-year mine life.

The project has a current National Instrument 43-101-compliant indicated resource of 26.5-million tonnes of 1.30% Li₂O equivalent or 0.98% Li₂O and 163 parts per million (ppm) Ta₂O₅ and an inferred resource of 10.7-million tonnes of 1.14% Li₂O equivalent or 0.86% Li₂O and 145 ppm Ta₂O₅.