Enhancing mineral liberation of rare earth minerals by using high voltage electrical pulses and improved classification - Ashram Deposit

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The Ashram Deposit is one of the largest rare earth elements (REEs) and fluorspar in the world. The deposit located at the Eldor property in the Nunavik Region of the province of Québec, is developed by Commerce Resources Corp. Because of their major role in various advanced technologies like permanent magnets (wind energy) and rechargeable batteries, REEs global demand is constantly increasing. REEs are not as rare as their name implies. However, their very low concentration in the ore makes them difficult to extract and not economical to mine. To be economic, rare earth processing involves beneficiation step to produce high-grade concentrate, typically up to 40 percent of REO (Rare Earth Oxide). The efficiency of beneficiation depends on the degree of liberation of RE minerals during the comminution process. The Ashram Deposit material is characterized by a very fine liberation size, typically 15-20 µm, thus requiring fine grinding to enhance liberation. However, fine grinding results on high energy consumption and operating cost. In addition, fine grinding generates ultra-fine particles which reduce the efficiency of the subsequent step, typically a flotation process. Therefore, the main objective of the present project is to evaluate the mineral liberation efficiency of the high voltage electrical pulse (HVEP) technology and the impact of wet screening on preventing ultra-fines, in order to enable the production of high grade REEs concentrate from Ashram Deposit material.