Emgold’s subsidiary, Golden Bear Ceramics, will build a Ceramext pilot plant, designed to produce ceramic tiles and bricks from mine tailings. The process is currently at the bench-scale testing phase.
The tiles and bricks will be made from various materials, including development rock and tailings from the Idaho-Maryland mine, as well as coal, lignite, biomass fly ash, bottom ash, slag, clays, volcanic ash and other mine tailings.
The plant will test the potential of the Ceramext process for consuming all development rock from underground workings and tailings.
Marketing surveys indicate that floor tiles are worth US$1.25-1.50 per sq. ft. wholesale in California, which translates into US$400-500 per ton of feedstock.
The Ceramext process was tested on tailings from the Idaho-Maryland mine, and the result was high-quality ceramic blanks suitable for forming into ceramic products. Emgold leased a 44,000-sq.-ft. building in Grass Valley to provide office, laboratory, and storage space for the business.
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