Pacific Wildcat testing achieves 90% dissolution for Nb

2013-07-25 08:40 ET - News Release

Ms. Terese Gieselman reports

PACIFIC WILDCAT RESOURCES CORP.: MRIMA HILL METALLURGY TESTWORK ACHIEVES 90% METAL DISSOLUTION

Pacific Wildcat Resources Corp. has provided an update on the metallurgical development program for the Mrima Hill niobium and rare earths project in Kenya (PAW indirect 70-per-cent ownership).

Key points of the update are:

• A simple hydrometallurgical process route to crack and separate both niobium and rare earths has been demonstrated at laboratory scale.
• Bench-scale testing achieved 90-per-cent dissolution for niobium and 99 per cent for the rare earths.

The Mrima Hill deposit hosts significant rare earth content (PAW has an initial exploration target(i) for the total rare earth oxide (TREO) mineralization of between 30 million to 40 million tonnes at grades ranging from 4.0 per cent to 5.0 per cent TREO) in addition to its initial NI 43-101-compliant inferred niobium resource estimate of 105.3 million tonnes at 0.65 per cent Nb2O5 (including 12 million tonnes of 1.21 per cent Nb2O5).

A flowsheet has now been developed by consulting metallurgist, Gavin Beer, that will leach and recover both the niobium and rare earths into high purity saleable products. Mr. Beer has been managing the company's metallurgical programs since January, 2012, and has extensive experience within the rare earth industry.

(i) Note that the potential quantities and grades of the above TREO estimates are conceptual in nature, and there is insufficient exploration to date to define a current mineral resource and therefore it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the target being delineated as a current mineral resource. A qualified person as defined under National Instrument 43-101 has not completed sufficient work to classify the above-mentioned historical estimate as a current mineral resource. For details of individual rare earth oxides that contribute to the TREO exploration target see the attached table.

A simple leach process has been developed to crack the niobium- and rare-earth-bearing minerals without the need for baking kilns, as is common with rare earth flowsheets, or the use of hazardous hydrofluoric acid, which is required for some niobium-bearing minerals.

The leach process has been successfully demonstrated at laboratory scale using a leach reactor at the CSIRO in Perth, Western Australia. The testwork was conducted on a subsample split from a bulk composite of 41 samples weighing 89 kilograms across five reverse circulation drill holes. The average grade of the sample was 1.06 per cent Nb2O5 and 1.90 per cent total rare earth oxides. The leach achieved 90-per-cent dissolution for the niobium and 99-per-cent dissolution for the rare earths in a single stage in less than one-hour residence time.

The full flowsheet is being developed at Nagrom Laboratories, also in Perth, and will incorporate solvent extraction followed by precipitation to produce the niobium product. Rare earths will undergo an initial precipitation followed by a purification stage before being recovered as a mixed rare earth carbonate. In parallel, an alternative flowsheet is being evaluated by a large research institute with specialist expertise in hydrometallurgical niobium and rare earth flowsheets.

PAW president and chief executive officer, Darren Townsend, said: "We are very pleased with the progress that has been made to date on developing a metallurgical process for the Mrima Hill niobium and rare earth project. Mrima Hill is in the unique position of having a combination of very-high-grade niobium and rare earths mineralization located together and as a result this process flow sheet takes full advantage of this endowment."

   EXPLORATION TARGET OF INDIVIDUAL TREO + Y2O3
                                                  
TREO + Y2O3 4.00 %                                

REO -- light = 3.63 %                                

La2O3 %   CeO2 %    Pr6O11 %  Nd2O3 %   Sm2O3 %   

1.048     1.714     0.177     0.604     0.085     

                                                  
TREO + Y2O3 5.00 %                                

REO -- light = 4.54 %                                

La2O3 %   CeO2 %    Pr6O11 %  Nd2O3 %   Sm2O3 %   

1.310     2.142     0.222     0.755     0.107     

                                                  
        EXPLORATION TARGET OF INDIVIDUAL TREO + Y2O3
                                                                        
REO -- heavy = 0.17 %                                                      

Eu2O3 % Gd2O3 % Tb4O7 % Dy2O3 % Ho2O3 % Er2O3 % Tm2O3 % Yb2O3 % Lu2O3 % 

0.024   0.062   0.008   0.038   0.007   0.016   0.002   0.011   0.001   

REO -- heavy = 0.21 %                                                      

Eu2O3 % Gd2O3 % Tb4O7 % Dy2O3 % Ho2O3 % Er2O3 % Tm2O3 % Yb2O3 % Lu2O3 % 

0.030   0.078   0.010   0.047   0.008   0.020   0.002   0.013   0.002   

Y2O3 = 0.20 %                 

Y2O3 %                        

0.202                         

Y2O3 = 0.25 %                 

Y2O3 %                        

0.253                         

Qualified person

Benjamin Craig Pollard, BSc, mineral exploration and mine geology, MAusIMM, qualified person under NI 43-101, and as a competent person as defined in the 2004 Edition of the Australasian code for reporting of exploration results, mineral resources and ore reserves (JORC code), has reviewed the scientific and technical data and exploration data related to the TREO exploration target and TREO historical estimate referred to in this presentation and consents to its release. Mr. Pollard is a full-time employee of BMGS Perth Pty. Ltd.

Gavin Beer, BSc, extractive metallurgy, MAusIMM(CP), qualified person under NI 43-101, has reviewed the scientific and technical data relating to the Mrima Hill project contained in this news release on behalf of the company and consents to its release.