Argex mini-plant testing results in 99.8% purity titanium dioxide product

Argex Mining (CVE:RGX) said Wednesday that mini-plant testing of the ore collected from its wholly owned La Blache deposit, located on the northern shore of Quebec, have resulted in the production of 99.8% pure titanium dioxide, and average recoveries of 90 percent.
The ore was processed by the company's subsidiary, Canadian Titanium Ltd (CTL), using Argex's patented processing methods, which it calls the CTL Process. Argex developed the process to produce titanium dioxide, iron oxide, and vanadium products directly from run-of-mine materials.
The process involves leaching the titanium-bearing ore into a solution. Since the process operates at an atmospheric pressure, it does not require the ore to be pre-treated, lowering operating costs, and making the process more energy efficient. The process also operates with a relatively low concentration of hydrochloric acid, which removes the need to handle chlorine, carbon, or carbon-containing chemicals at high pressures.
Intended to examine the company's CTL Process, the testing demonstrated the repeated and consistent production of 99.8% pure titanium dioxide, directly from run-of-mine materials. Argex said. It also found an improved and consistent titanium dioxide recovery rate of 90 percent.
"It is largely because of the success of our proprietary mineral processing technology that we were able to produce such a successful Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) results," said president and CEO, Roy Bonnell.
"The PEA confirmed for us the economic and technological viability of the CTL Process."
In October, the company announced a PEA for the property, indicating a 32 percent pre-tax internal rate of return (IRR) and a production profile of 195,000 tonnes of titanium dioxide per year.
The PEA study, which was completed by BBA of Montreal, Quebec, estimated a net present value of $2.2 billion, using an eight percent discount rate, and a payback period of seven years, assuming a staged, modular plant construction.
Total average operating costs, net of by-products, were calculated at $586 per tonne of titantium dioxide, averaged over the anticipated 25 plus year life of the mine. Capital costs were projected at $801 million.
The mini-plant testing reported today also revealed that the brightness of the titanium dioxide produced was in line with, or superior to, some of the major producers in the industry, Argex said. The end product was also produced to the optimal size - 0.25 microns - for commercial use in paints and other products.
Also, Argex said the organics used in the production process have been recycled over one hundred times, demonstrating the viability of the process.
Aside from La Blache, which hosts 4.7 million tonnes of inferred resources grading 10.67% titanium, 41.76% iron and 0.25% vanadium, the company owns the Mouchalagane property, a large Labrador Trough iron ore project.
On the TSX-Venture Exchange, Argex shares rose 3.9 percent to $0.40, as of 2:42 pm EDT Wednesday.