Tiomin feasibility study continues

A feasibility study is in progress at the 18,000-hectare Natashquan heavy mineral sands deposit along Quebec’s northern shore.

Project operator Tiomin Resources (ME) expects a 20-year mine plan to be completed by May. The plan calls for 90 hectares to be dredged and processed annually by simple gravity and magnetic separation.

The drill-indicated resource stands at 1.7 billion tonnes grading 6% heavy minerals, which constitutes less than 30% of the property.

The pilot plant phase of the feasibility study should be completed by April. The plant will produce synthetic rutile, using Natashquan ilmenite as feedstock. Synthetic rutile is used in the manufacture of pigments for paint and plastics, and the Natashquan product yields assays in excess of 96% titanium dioxide.

Demand for finished pigment is growing, with prices now in the range of US$2,000 per tonne (compared with US$1,300 per tonne 12 months ago). In addition, the feasibility study is addressing the upgrading of iron in the sands into direct reduced iron, which is used as a high-quality feedstock for electric-furnace steel-making.

Tiomin also plans to produce garnet and zircon from the Natashquan heavy mineral sands.

Meanwhile, in Panama, the company has been granted exploration concessions for titanium-bearing, heavy mineral sands covering 27,900 hectares. The acquisition of these properties comes after two years of reconnaissance work in Central and South America. The company has already collected extensive samples and will soon initiate detailed mapping and sampling to determine the economic potential of the Panamanian deposits.