Jaguar Nickel fires up pilot plant (November 28, 2003)

Junior Jaguar Nickel (JNI-T) has started up a pilot plant designed to test the viability of its proprietary atmospheric chloride-leach process on ore samples from the company’s Sechol nickel-cobalt laterite project in Guatemala.

The pilot plant is located at the Mississauga, Ont., facilities of metallurgical consultants Process Research ORTECH (PRO), and the program is being overseen by Jaguar’s Chief Technical Officer Bryn Harris and ORTECH’s V.I. Lakshmanan and R. Sridhar.

Jaguar says that the equipment has successfully been water tested, and processing of the saprolite horizon is underway.

The company notes that preliminary laboratory testing of the three key horizons — saprolite, limonite and transition (mottled) — of the Sechol property showed that “excellent nickel and cobalt recoveries could be achieved from all horizons.”

The current phase of pilot plant testing will continue into the first quarter of 2004.

As described in a feature story in our Oct. 20, 2003, issue, Jaguar’s process for handling nickel laterites involves four basic steps: First, nickel and cobalt are brought into solution with an acid-chloride leach; then residual impurities such as iron are removed; then recycled magnesia is used to precipitate a mixed nickel-cobalt hydroxide; and last, pyrohydrolysis recovers hydrochloric acid and magnesia.

Among several advantages, the process allows the entire laterite profile, i.e. limonite and saprolite (both of which are present in Guatemala), to be processed, virtually doubling reserves and greatly simplifying the mining plan.

Earlier in November, Jaguar raised gross proceeds of $25 million by privately placing 20 million special warrants at $1.25 apiece, with each special warrant exercisable into one share and one warrant to buy another share for $1.75 each until Nov. 15, 2004.

The offering was completed by a syndicate of underwriters led by Scotia Capital, and including Octagon Capital, Orion Securities and Northern Securities.

Funds are earmarked for exploration at Sechol and for development of the atmospheric chloride-leach process.

ORTECH was formed in January 1999 to take over the 70+-year-old Process Technologies division of ORTECH Corp. (formerly Ontario Research Foundation) under the privatization plan of the Ontario government.