Platinum and PGM Extraction & Refining
Phase I & Phase II Extraction Study
This Section will provide an outline of our Phase I and Phase II extraction testing programs. The principal objective of Phase I is to introduce a prospective ore body (ies) to historically successful leaches and pyro fluxes to establish a threshold assessment as to whether that ore might be commercially extractable. These are proprietary processes never generally available through open market or mining publications.
If you are intending to engage in a Phase II Extraction study, a Phase I is a prerequisite, this is necessary because of the necessary about of ore characteristics and attributes revealed by the Phase I which are necessary in order to precede into a Phase II study.
We intend to be clear, knowing a vast amount of complex ores and metals in our 51 year history, that we guarantee no specific percentage of recovery, but rather guarantee our best faith efforts, rare professional capability and exposure to some of the most effective extractions available anywhere in a quite compact time span. This Phase I often then develops into a Phase II study, assuming one or two efficient processes are identified or appears to be promising, or the subject ore demonstrates such high values initially that a Phase II becomes an advisable first step.
Again, Phase I Study is intended principally to assess the threshold commercial extractability of a given ore body. Phase II, on the other hand, is a substantially more comprehensive set of studies. We hope that at the end of a Phase II Study we are able to identify a rough outline of a recovery circuit that would be used for the extraction of platinates and gold. Though a Phase II does not cover every possible every avenue of extraction such as ion exchange, electro-weining, but does include many of the state of the art approaches in current platinum beneficiation.
Phase II undertakes the critical aspects of:
A. Several types of particle reduction methods and particle sizes will be applied to your ore, which includes a unique look at Micronizing, which reduces particle size via high pressure /velocity air. Samples from different particle sizes will be assayed and some extraction will be done to determine which particle size and method most optimally liberates platinates and Gold.
B. A much wider study of potential concentration is undertaken in a Phase II, exposing the subject ore body to a variety of different concentrators, including gravity types, centrifuge and Momentum Discrimination. Each of these results will be assayed and will likely reveal which if any of these concentrators demonstrate a positive effect on your ore body.
C. Also in Phase II, a number of proprietary pretreatments which have historically been successful in converting matrixes present in your ore. These will be tested to discern if any of these secret processes will convert metallic precursors over into measurable metallics. Some of these pretreatments can make a mundane, if not clearly marginal ore into a highly successful ore with considerable Noble Metals refined later in the stage of recovery.
D. Phase II also involves compressive exposure and testing back (assay) using highly proprietary Leach formulas and Furnace Fluxes and custom furnaces to hopefully arrive at an extraction which is not only commercially feasible, but highly profitable. Once again, none of these processes are generally available on the open market and our extractionists are not ones who hang a shingle.
The most efficient and comprehensive approach, in our view, is to place prepared samples of your ore with some of the best extractionists in the country. These will include a variety of extractionists who have been affiliated with and doing joint projects with our Lab for literally decades.
We are going to attempt to augment the available metals in the ore in several ways. First, one leading edge technology in recovery is the practice of pretreating ores using a variety of roasting technologies, plasma reactor or plasma furnace treatments. In other words, more metals are exposed both for testing (assay) purposes, but also for attack by chemical leach recovery. This also converts Noble Metal molecules over from salts based ores and other forms into a metallic form, now available for assaying and caustic recovery. We also have had excellent success with pre-treating Pt ores in a plasma reactor, which we are going to try on your ore as well. At this point we will have your ores back to us in various particle size categories. Then each extractionist will attempt their best forms of recovering PGM’s, Au and Ag generally by leach and some pyro (furnancing). Advanced Analytical will compensate each of the firms out of the funds you have advanced.
At that point, each of those who are able to recover "hard metal" in the form of metal beads, Dore’ or precipitates will return each recovery sample to Advanced Analytical for testing. We would suggest that we send each and every recovery bead/precips to you for verification and personal inspection, so you have complete confidence that something was (hopefully) recovered, what it looked like and in what form the recovery was in. This personal inspection process is a readily available option to you, but may cause some short delay in the completion of the project. At that point the beads should be returned to our labs and tested to determine "which" and "how much" precious metals were recovered.
After Phase II, should a viable recovery be identified, then a costing process would then be undertaken to determine how efficient and cost effective the highest recovery process is. The person who comes up with the best recovery is generally interested in some small percentage of the refinery net for their compensation which would have to be negotiated if you decide to proceed. In some cases a license fee would also be necessary.
The cost of a phase I project, per ore body is $22,000.00, plus add $13,500.00 if Rhodium is a target metal for your ore body, which includes direction and coordination of project, splitting and packaging of samples and fee compensation to each extractor. This cost includes 6 assays. Any additional assay testing would be at an additional cost at the normal rate of $385.00 per "8 element assay" (in advance) and /or $85.00 per element of all other elements on the Periodic Table.
The project cost for Phase II extraction study is $68,000.00, plus add $24,000.00 if rhodium is a target metal for your project, which includes 10 assays. Any additional assays will be at an additional cost at the normal rate of $385.00 per "8 element assay" and / or $85.00 per element of all other elements on the Periodic Table. Magnetite ores add $90.00 per assay.
A comprehensive, 78 element assay prior to moving forward to Phase I or Phase II is required. This will necessarily identify all elements on the periodic chart, especially possible interference elements such as nickel, cobalt, iron, vanadium and chromium, to name a few. Some of these are so caustic or invasive to the leach or furnacing process, that pre-stripping must occur on these elements in certain ore bodies prior to processing. Naturally, if an interference metal/element is identified, the process for elimination of those elements must be taken into account when calculating a production cost/feasibility study.
The time for completion for a Phase I is estimated at 45 to 60 days and for Phase II is 110 to 130 days. All ores submitted for a Phase I or Phase II Study should be at 85% +/- 100 mesh.
A deposit of 50% of the overall project cost is required to establish a project booking with the full remainder at the commencement of the project activities.
Please let me know if this adequately describes the process which we will begin to get underway or if you have any questions. We can be reached at 623.587.7690 or 480.488.7000 Mountain Standard Time.
