Australia-based mine developer Global Geoscience on Tuesday announced that it had produced premium quality boric acid from its Rhyolite Ridge lithium/boron project, in Nevada, using conventional commercial processes.
The company said that the successful production of boric acid, which was produced using a conventional flowsheet developed for the Rhyolite prefeasibility study (PFS) demonstrates the project’s ability to produce premium end products that can be scaled up for commercial production.
Rhyolite Ridge is one of only two known large lithium/boron deposits globally. The project has the potential to supply about 160 000 t/y to 220 000 t/y of boric acid and 20 000 t/y to 30 000 t/y of lithium carbonate in the initial phase. This will make the mine the world’s third largest boric acid producer behind Turkey’s Eti Maden and global diversified group Rio Tinto, which combined supply about 80% of the world’s refined borates.
The Rhyolite PFS is due to be completed in the current quarter.