PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Nolans neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) project, in the Northern Territory, has completed a bulk pre-leach pilot operation, owner Arafura Resources reported on Tuesday.
The company said the bulk pre-leach pilot plant was the third phase of Arafura’s final piloting of the Nolans process flow sheet, and followed from the successful operation of the beneficiation pilot plant, which delivered a high-phosphate concentrate as feed to the bulk pre-leach.
Phase 2 of the piloting programme validated the metallurgical process, including the initial pre-leach stage, which forms the basis for the bulk pre-leach pilot plant.
Arafura noted that the bulk pre-leach pilot plant was run over a five-day period, and processed some 4.3 t of high-phosphate concentrate, generating 2 t of NdPr-rich pre-leach residue.
Planning is under way for Phase 4 of the pilot programme, which will consist of acid baking the NdPr-rich pre-leach residue, with construction and operation of the Phase 4 pilot scheduled for the September quarter.
Arafura is hoping to start production at Nolans in 2019, with production targeted at 20 000 t/y of rare earth oxide equivalent.