Rare Earth Opportunities Potential to Build Communities.
Pele Mountain has the opportunity to produce rare earth elements at the only mining camp in Canada that has produced REE’s before, potentially changing the community enormously. Their mine is in the works at Eco Ridge near Elliot Lake, ON. If they can produce soon, it would greatly alter the town. Elliot Lake was invented when uranium was found there. They used to have 12 operating mines, now there is none. I can relate, having just changed communities from Banff to Toronto due to the REE opportunities here. Originally I emailed Pro-Edge just to see about attending the Technology Metals Summit only two weeks ago, now I am watching the summit take shape. Perhaps things could change as much for Elliot Lake where the population has fluctuated between 26, 000, and 6,600 in the last few decades.
Elliot Lake was formerly the world’s largest uranium producing area, but all the mines have been closed, though not depleted. If Pele Mountain is able to produce in the near future, it may encourage the re-assessment of the mines next door. This won’t turn it into an international destination, but Banff was once just a coal mining town. To find out about that in Banff today, you would have to dust off an old book, but Elliot Lake could become a hub for REE’s as it once was for uranium. The area MP Carol Hughes, commenting on Eco-Ridge has said that, “It’s brought hope to Elliot Lake.” Like the uranium was exported, the REE’s would also be shipped overseas. Access to the deep water port on Lake Huron allows for access to world markets through the St. Lawrence Seaway.
Pele Mountain will be exhibiting at the Technology Metals Summit in Toronto Feb. 1st & 2nd, booth #209. Their mine is abundant in the rarest REE’s, Heavy REE’s (HREE), and they have updated their extraction process to recover up to ten times as much as forecast in their initial Preliminary Economic Assessment. All of this combined with existing mining infrastructure, access to a deep water port, local support, and proximity to population centers makes it unlike any other mine in Canada. Though Pele is not the company that produced REE’s at Elliot Lake, their Executive VP is Roger Payne, the former GM of Elliot Lake for Rio-Algom, a previous operator of 9 mines in the region.
They have a new Preliminary Economic Assessment due in the first quarter of 2012 that will outline their new acid-baking extraction process. The process allows for higher REE extraction rather than focusing on uranium. This is in line with the recent developments in the scarcity of REE’s and movement away from nuclear, such as Germany abandoning it altogether. As well, they have a pilot plant planned for the second quarter of 2012. This should indicate the quantity of the REE’s and whether they will be able to produce in the near future.
The area was the world’s largest producer of uranium until the 80’s. The former REE producing mine run by Dennison Mines was shut in the 90’s when Chinese imports came on the scene. None of the mines are depleted of uranium and they weren’t even looking for REE’s. Eco-Ridge is a new mine and there is a 4km surface outcrop of deposits on the property according to CEO Al Shefsky. The undepleted mines are also likely to have significant amounts of HREE’s.
The existing advantages Pele Mountain has and the new focus on REE's instead of uranium looks to match current market movements. The question that exists for them and all new mines is how soon will they be able to produce? Since Elliot Lake is the only area in Canada that has produced means that Pele Mountain could come online sooner than some of their competitors. If they do, it could stimulate other mines in the area to be re-assessed, potentially boosting a community that is eager to have mining again in the region. Elliot Lake was invented to accommodate uranium mining and now it may have the opportunity to become a major producer of rare earth elements.
Disclaimer: Pele Mountain is a sponsor of Rare Metals Blog.
