TMCnet News
Australia : Platina Signs Agreement with Chinese Manufacturer for Owendale Project [TendersInfo (India)](TendersInfo (India) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Platina Resources Ltd is pleased to announce that it has signed a Heads of Agreement (HoA) with Chinese manufacturer Inner Mongolia Honfine Zirconium Industry Co Ltd (Honfine) to negotiate both an Off-take Agreement and a Supply, Technology, Processing and Marketing Agreement for the Company s Owendale Scandium Project in central New South Wales, Australia. Under the terms of the HoA, Platina and Honfine will negotiate an Off-take Agreement for the supply of 15 tonnes of scandium oxide at a 99.9% purity grade and at a commercially acceptable price. Whilst pricing and other terms are yet to be agreed, Platina notes that within the past four years scandium oxide (99.9% purity) has sold within a range of USD$1,400-3,700 per kg. Under the HOA, the stated intention is that Platina and Honfine will aim to finalise and execute a binding Off-take Agreement and a binding Supply, Technology, Processing and Marketing Agreement within the next three months. In addition, both companies will evaluate the viability of transporting scandium concentrates grading 1000ppm Sc or higher from Australia to China to be processed at Honfine s factory located in Inner Mongolia and marketed throughout China and the world. Currently, Platina is working on a metallurgical test work program to produce high grade scandium concentrate from the Owendale Project. This potential flowsheet for scandium concentrate could significantly reduce capex and opex. Platina and Honfine also intend to collaborate on establishing the cheapest processing technology required to produce the desired scandium products from Owendale ore. Owendale is the highest grade laterite-hosted scandium deposit discovered globally, and offers a stable and potentially large tonnage scandium production. Current world consumption of scandium is approximately 8 tonnes per annum however, research and development activities in recent years indicates significant demand for scandium in the aerospace industry and fuel cell technology. The potential for Platina to export a moderately upgraded concentrate from Owendale for further processing in China (1000ppm Sc in concentrate compared to a head grade of 384ppm Sc) presents a potential breakthrough to advance Owendale to low-cost early production. Platina Managing Director Rob Mosig said, The HoA with Honfine heralds a milestone in the commencement of a scandium production industry. We look forward to making further announcements regarding advancing the Off-take and Supply, Technology, Processing and Marketing Agreements as soon as possible. The Owendale Project hosts an Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resource (JORC 2012) of 24 million tonnes of scandium grading 384ppm Sc (at a cut-off of 300ppm Sc) and contains a total in-situ content of 9,100 tonnes of scandium metal. (c) 2014 Euclid Infotech Pvt. Ltd. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info). |