The Anchor House, Inc.

By Clint Cox

G’Day from the land Down Under!

ANSTO is the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation. What follows below is a brief description of my trip to this facility and what they offer the rare earth community.

There will be no pictures to accompany this posting, which is unfortunate, because they would be some of the most interesting I can imagine regarding the intricacy of processing rare earth ores.

ANSTO is the home of the only nuclear facility in Australia. Here they collect isotopes, conduct experiments, and most importantly for us—process minerals.

I was graciously invited to ANSTO by Ian Chalmers of Alkane Resources to see their pilot plant facility.  When we arrived we had to check in our cameras, phones, etc. received our badges, and passed through a secure entrance.  We were then driven to the ANSTO Minerals division within the compound.

From the ANSTO Minerals website:

ANSTO Minerals is a mining consultancy group with expertise that covers chemical engineering, metallurgy, mineralogy, chemistry, geology and radiation safety.

ANSTO Minerals specialises in knowledge of uranium ore processing and has a 20-year track record of providing practical solutions and innovative technology in ways that deliver financial and environmental benefits to the mining and minerals processing industries. The unit has the expertise, experience and tools to provide process design and problem solving solutions to issues across the entire mining life cycle.

They have large facilities, including offices and labs, and employ 50-60 people.  This is quite significant.  This means that they have 50-60 people with a variety of expertise focused on mineral processing in one place. There are also a variety of ages—from just out of school to seasoned veterans.

Although founded in 2004, the ANSTO Minerals team has been working on mineral processing projects as far back 1991, when it worked on processing Mt. Weld ore–so their experience is extensive. Other Australian rare earths exploration companies have had work done for them here as well, but the project I came to see is that of Alkane’s Dubbo Zirconia Project (aka D-Zed-P).

We met with some senior staff before we visited the plant. We learned about ANSTO, its capabilities, personnel and history.

The pilot plant is impressive—with the complexity of processing the rare earths on full display! A very smart and capable gentleman named Adrian Manis walked us through the current demonstration plant, where they are able to put ore (ground to specification) in one end of the circuit and get multiple products out of the other end. In the most basic of terms, the flowsheet sounds something like this:

1. Crushing & Screening
2. Milling
3. Sulphation
4. Repulping
5. Leaching
6. Filtering
7. Solvent Extraction
8. Precipitation
   

The chemical & physical details involved of each of these steps is often beyond my current comprehension, so I must leave it at those basic terms so as not to mislead! Keep in mind that there are multiple products, and thus multiple flowsheets for the demonstration plant.

Also, in several steps of the process they are experimenting with one or more options for that step, so there are different routes the ore can take, but the end result is various products including zirconium (Zr) hydroxide, Zr sulphate, Zr carbonate, Zirconia, Nb oxide, LREE double sulphate, and HREE fluoride concentrate.  It has yet to be determined what the final end products will be for the process, as customers will dictate their demands, but there are multiple possibilities.

Mr. Chalmers will be the first to tell you that Alkane still has to determine their costs on producing the various products, and that they are still working on the REE portion of the circuit. If they get to production, they would be producing somewhere between 1290 and 3225 tonnes per annum (tpa)—not enough to relieve the world’s reliance on China, but probably offering an alternative source to one or more end-users. But it usually comes down to economics — can they compete with current world sources in each of their potential markets?

Also, this is first and foremost a zirconium project. That means that its success or failure will be determined in a large part to the Zr market (which, admittedly, I don’t understand at all).

As I left ANSTO, there were several thoughts on my mind. First, ANSTO Minerals is working proof that Australia is committed to its resource community.  Resources are such a substantial part of Australian economics that they recognize this and try to assist companies in the best way that they can. Second, having such facility allows for companies to learn how to deal with radioactive issues safely and effectively to minimize impact.

More coming on my visit to Dubbo soon…

Special thanks to Ian Chalmers, Dudley Kingsnorth of IMCOA, Gavin, Alister, Adrian, Karin, and Bob.

By Clint Cox

First of all, Alaska is beautiful – even in the rain!

It was my first trip to the great state, and I thoroughly enjoyed the scenery and the people. It all began in Ketchikan, starting with dinner and a good night’s sleep before we headed to the plane the next morning for the short hop to Bokan Mountain.

We arrived at the Ucore Uranium’s barge and talked for a bit with Jim McKenzie, Ucore’s CEO. We waited until Harmen Keyser, their head Geo, returned from the field to get an update and hopefully get out on the Mountain. Harmen gave us a great description of what we would see.

We were going to get wet, and any suggestion that my “waterproof” raingear and boots would probably keep me dry was politely smiled at as we headed into the bowels of the barge to grab some all-repelling “rubber”.

By the time we jumped in the boat and headed across the bay toward Bokan, I realized that rubber was the way to go!

We first went to the coreshack to get a bearing on the mineralization and what we would be looking for out in the field:

Inside, they were busy logging core, but they happily stopped to listen to Dr. Mariano, an expert rare earth geologist, discuss both the core and the complexity of rare earth mineralogy.

The rare earths at Bokan are contained in veins that run along the Dotson Trend.  You can see the peachy-pink flecks and the elongated whitish diamond-shaped mineralization in the core below.  These contain the rare earth mineralization. The minerals present may include (but may not be limited to):

• kainosite
• synchysite
• parasite
• bastnaesite
• euxenite
• samarskite
• allanite
• fergusonite
• armstrongite
• iimoriite
• thalenite
• tengerite
• tombarthite
• xenotime, and
• monazite

We took a sample and tested it with their Niton analyzer. Sure enough — rare earths!

After gaining a little better understanding of how to split and interpret core, we headed back out into the rain to walk the Dotson Trend – the current rare earth area that is being explored.

We followed the trend though the woods and muck, from outcrop to outcrop:

Walking the Trend was fascinating and insightful.  There were three geologists on this walk, and they all had excellent input.  This is complex stuff – so I need all the help I can get!

The mineralization is in veins that run along the trend. It is not yet known what the primary REE target mineral (or group of minerals) will be. It is clear that there is REE mineralization here – now we wait as they determine if the grade, tonnage, and metallurgy exists to make the project economically viable.  We will watch it closely!

A view from Bokan looking back at the barge:

Special Thanks to Jim McKenzie, Harmen Keyser, Cliff Hanson, Suzy, and the entire barge staff!

By Clint Cox

Back in May I visited the Bear Lodge rare earth property of Rare Element Resources.  I have wanted to visit the site for quite some time, so it was a highly anticipated trip.  In the end (and throughout), it was quite enjoyable, and incredibly educational.  I was able to spend the better part of two days with several top-notch geologists who had many years of experience with rare earths.

I flew into Rapid City, South Dakota and drove from there to Sundance, Wyoming.  This is a great part of the country with the Black Hills, Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, the Vore Buffalo jump, and plenty of outdoor distractions.

We stayed in Sundance, and it was short drive on paved roads and then another short drive though the property on gravel roads to reach Bull Hill, the primary target of rare earth exploration at Bear Lodge:

Bull Hill at Bear Lodge

In its recently released 43-101 report, Rare Element Resources stated that they have over 9.8 million tons (this is 8.89 million metric tonnes) at 4.1% REO.  The primary rare earth minerals are ancylite and bastnaesite.  The infrastructure is very good at Bear Lodge, and we will watch the company closely as they look to develop their understanding of the property further.  We await the results of their metallurgical work, as they are trying to be the first to process ancylite as a primary REE mineral.

Special thanks to Don Ranta (President of Rare Element Resources) and Jim Clark (my host, and Vice President of Exploration) for allowing me to visit the site!

By Clint Cox

Great Western Minerals Group and Titan Mining Group LLC hosted a group tour of their new Deep Sands project on 25 February 2008. There were a number of us present at the SME conference in Salt Lake City, and since it is only about 3 hours away, they offered a one day excursion to the site:

The picture above shows the site from the east (looking west). The site includes almost the entirety of what you see from left to right at the foot of the mountains.

John Pearson, VP of Exploration for Great Western, discussed the site location on a map:

The site is vast — over 66 square miles and is a joint venture in which Great Western holds a 25% interest in the REEs (they can earn a 100% by completing the necessary work for a Preliminary Economic Assessment Report, determining a fair value for the property and entering into a definitive purchase arrangement). Titan holds the remaining interest. The area includes much of the Lake Bonneville paleo beaches, so they will be looking for REEs in sandy material — not hard rock. Random samples have shown the area to have from 0.14% to 0.80% TREO.

They have just begun work at the site, but they were able to show us several holes with magnetite showings (that also have monazite) and also two outcroppings.

The first hole:

The blackish layer near the bottom of the pit is the magnetite layer. Because this was during the SME conference, we had excellent commentary about the geology and markets from a diverse group of knowledgeable REE sources.

From this hole we drove across the property to observe an outcropping. After that we had lunch and then journeyed to a second, larger outcropping:

At this point, several of us climbed the side of the hill, dug a hole, and took samples of the sand:

Once again, we are looking for the dark layers of magnetite.

We spent a few hours on site, and then headed back to Salt Lake City. Perhaps the most entertaining part of the day was a short stop at a rock shop in Delta, Utah, on the return trip. It can be a load of fun to see a van load of geologists and rock hounds descend on the local rock shop at closing time!

Deep Sands is in the very early stages and there is plenty of work to be done, but we will be following the progress of the project as they explore further and look for areas of concentrated REE.

Thanks to Great Western and Titan Mining for a great day in the desert.

I visited the Great Western Minerals Hoidas Lake project on August 16th:

Gord Dent of Great Western has played a pivotal role in my realization of the importance of rare earth elements (REE). After I began my study of REE, Gord was the first person I ever spoke with in person about the rare earths. He showed me the elements in the physical form for the first time, and I visited the Great Western Plant in Troy, Michigan–so it was a great pleasure to accept the invitation to see the Hoidas property. Thanks, Gord!

A group of us met at the corporate offices the morning of August 16th ready to go. There were investors, brokers, a reporter, and company representatives. We went to the airport and took a smallish plane to Stony Rapids, stopping to refuel once on the way. In Stony Rapids we took a bus to a Twin Otter float plane which was waiting for us dockside. From there we flew over some beautiful country and then landed directly on Hoidas Lake.

Richard Hogan, the Vice President of Operations, gave us a short talk explaining the project and giving us key points to keep in mind as we toured the site. Also quite helpful was Kimberly Halpin, a masters student who is researching Hoidas for her thesis — we look forward to reading her final analysis in the future.

Next we went to a clearing where we could see some drill holes and trench work (marked by the orange tape across the left side of the picture):

When looking in the trenches the apatite and allanite were visible as pinkish rock and dark green / black rock, respectively. They knocked off some samples for us so that we could see the fresh rock and have some genuine Hoidas souvenirs.

From there we took a look at some core samples:

The apatite:

The allanite:

After this we had another look at the map which showed current drill holes, as well as a chart of the distribution of REEs at Hoidas.

It was an excellent trip that offered plenty of insight and a good sense for both the upside and challenges presented by Hoidas Lake.

By Clint Cox

On July 18, I had the privilege of touring the Thor Lake property owned by Avalon Ventures. Thor Lake has a colorful history which began in 1976 when it was explored as a uranium prospect. It would go on to be considered for tantalum, niobium, zirconium, beryllium, and now Rare Earths. It has been explored by various companies including Highwood Resources, Placer, Hecla, Royal Oak, Dynatec, Beta Minerals, and now Avalon Ventures.

Thor Lake holds promise as a source of Heavy Rare Earth Elements (HREE) outside of China. Currently the world is dependent on the Ion Absorption Clays from south China for a significant portion of HREE, so any alternative source would be welcome in the marketplace.

The weather was unseasonably warm, with a good breeze that kept most of the black flies at bay. We landed on Thor Lake in the morning after a scenic 30 minute flight in a Twin Otter from Yellowknife. David Trueman and Chris Pedersen were our guides for the day. We began the tour with some coffee in the mess tent as Mr. Trueman got out some maps. He gave an instructive lecture about the geology of the Canadian Shield, Great Slave Lake, and Thor Lake.

Soon the geologists began swapping bear stories, and so we decided to head outside and test the bear poppers. These pen-like contraptions are loud firecracker/flares that are designed to cause bears to quake with fear and run whimpering back into the bush. The test turned out to be a great idea, as 2 of the 3 poppers were found to be defective! We then rode in a Zodiac across the lake to the trail head for the North T.

While Thor Lake consists of six distinct zones — the North T and the Lake Zone were the areas of focus for this visit. The current thinking is that the North T may be brought to production first in order to provide some early cash flow. Then the Lake Zone could be brought on later. However, all of this may change depending on what the current drill program at the Lake Zone reveals.

We had a pleasant hike to the site on an old road that was slightly overgrown with vegetation. This is where I learned to walk next to our guide because the first person stirs up anything that bites or stings in the vicinity, the second person makes them furious, and the remaining hikers get to feel their wrath! As you can see from the photo, I am in the unenviable “feel their wrath” position:

When we reached the North T, we were given an instructive visual presentation of the minerals found at the site. The North T has a multitude of minerals, including bastnaesite, xenotime, gadolinite, monazite and apatite–all containing REE in some proportion. Other minerals included magnetite, columbite, quartz, albite, fluorite, and phenacite. Below is a picture of the REE-bearing bastnaesite (the reddish material):

We also looked at the original drill hole, a flooded exploration tunnel, and various outcroppings before settling in to explore the muck piles to look for rock samples. I was allowed to fill my backpack with rocks of all sorts — with plentiful examples of each mineral:

We then studied a core sample from the Lake Zone before returning to the main camp site. Unfortunately, the most exciting part of the core (containing fergusonite) had already been sent to the assay lab. The advantage of fergusonite is that it has an excellent REE distribution (which means that it has a good proportion of the most highly valued HREE elements) and no thorium. In other world deposits, fergusonite is usually a secondary or trace mineral– here, it is a primary one. The compelling story at Thor Lake seems to be both the fergusonite of the Lake Zone and the multitude of other rare elements found throughout the site that represent potential by-products.

When compared to other sites in the world, Thor Lake has a relatively low percentage of total rare earth oxides (TREO) — often below 1%. Only the south China clays are lower (approximately 0.2%) on a TREO basis. There are some higher grade sub-zones within the Lake Zone, but these have yet to be defined. The low percentages can also be misleading because the distribution of the rare earths at Thor Lake and the south China clays heavily favors the HREE, which because of their scarcity, tend to fetch much higher prices.

The big question is whether or not Avalon will find enough grade and tonnage of REE to make the site a viable economic venture. They have begun a drilling program to provide a definitive answer to this question. In addition to establishing grade and tonnage, they also need to develop a cost-effective process that will provide a good recovery percentage for the REEs — finding REEs is one thing, but separating them from the host mineral and into individual elements is another issue entirely. Avalon will address these questions with metallurgists and process engineers.

In the end, the REE marketplace will make the final decision. If REE prices continue to escalate, it follows that REE exploration companies may benefit. This part of the story, however, is completely out of Avalon’s hands.

I wish to extend a special thanks to Don Bubar, David Trueman, Chris Pedersen, Bob, Heather, Emma and Wade for making our trip to Thor Lake both possible and an enjoyable experience!