Shareholders of Cassiar Mines & Metals have approved a change in name to
The company currently produces chrysotile fibre at Cassiar, B.C., having acquired the former producer after a previous operator went bankrupt. The fibre plant was rehabilitated late last year, and sales are now being made to customers in India, Iran, Dubai, Japan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Thailand. All feed materials for production of chrysotile fibres are taken from existing surface stockpiles of fibre containing serpentine.
Cassiar Magnesium plans to expand the rated capacity of the Cassiar chrysotile plant to 24,000 tonnes of fibre per year from 18,000 tonnes at a capital cost of $400,000. The company also intends to increase fibre production to up to 50,000 tonnes annually, using a combination of wet and dry processing methods.
Meanwhile, Cassiar Magnesium is developing surface stockpiles of magnesium resources, which total 20 million tonnes of serpentine mineral containing 8 billion lbs. of magnesium metal and 750,000 tonnes of high-grade magnesium silicate chrysotile fibres. These resources will support a magnesium metal plant production of 150-200 million lbs. of magnesium metal annually for 50 years, and a chrysotile fibre production at the planned rate of 40,000-50,000 tonnes annually for 15 years.
The company plans to develop and construct a large-scale magnesium production plant and facility in northern British Columbia as a “cornerstone” of its new business program and plan. The separation of chrysotile fibre from the serpentine would be the first stage of the larger magnesium metal project.
The proposed plant would have an annual capacity of up to 200 million lbs. of magnesium metal. Capital costs are estimated at US$600 million.
Cassair notes that its chrysotile magnesium fibre products are completely free of the undesirable mineral tremolite. This sharp-edged mineral crystal is found in much of the competitive fibre products produced elsewhere in the world.
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