American Rare Earths Ltd (ASX:ARR, OTCQB:ARRNF) has discovered a potential co-product at its Halleck Creek rare earth elements project in Wyoming: zircon.
Zirconium, the primary mineral in zircon, can be efficiently separated and upgraded due to its high density and this process can be integrated into the rare earth elements pre-concentration steps of the project’s flowsheet.
Supply of zircon is currently limited amid rising demand from high-growth industries such as ceramics, electronics, and nuclear energy.
American Rare Earths CEO Donald Swartz joined Proactive's Steve Darling to discuss the development.
Proactive: We’ve talked previously about the importance of Halleck Creek. Now there’s even more value potentially with zircon. Tell me about the reasoning for looking for this in the first place.
Donald Swartz: Well, I’d like to tell you we’re complete geniuses and we were looking for this the whole time. But, as part of the processing for rare earths we have talked about previously with gravity separation and the testing program we were doing, all of a sudden we were left with a lot of zircon. That just sort of came along for the ride. So, when we talk about zircon, our focus is still on rare earths but it’s a co-product and additional revenue we could get while we’re not really doing any more work.
What is zircon exactly? What would it be used for?
It’s really seeing a renaissance in the nuclear industry, ceramics, and all kinds of industrial applications. It’s typically a minor byproduct in mineral sands processing, so it’s very similar to the way that we’re upgrading the ore in the rare earth processing. We’re doing more assay work, more exploration and we’ll be looking at zircon concentrations as part of the next exploration and really trying to dial it in.
So, would this be something that would happen naturally if there’s no extra equipment?
Exactly. It’s very easy to separate out as a co-product or byproduct of the rare earths processing. We’re very excited about it being a kicker or additional revenue stream. It’s pretty compelling.
I look forward to hearing more about it when the time is right. Also, I wanted to ask about tariffs put on Chinese imports by the Biden administration a few weeks ago. That’s reflective of your company and the work that you’re doing.
The objective is to build up that downstream industry that we hope to serve. The big thing that we’re most excited about is this three-year phase-in period is the same timeline in which we can permit, construct and develop the mine really as the only North American project that can fit that timeline.
Quotes have been edited for clarity and style