1310 XXXI International Mineral Processing Congress 2024 Proceedings/Washington, DC/Sep 29–Oct 3
This article summarizes the process development effort
undertaken by L3 including the tradeoffs and opportunities
that arose from this new approach of using a high activity
flowsheet for the recovery of scandium and the REE from
Elk Creek Ore. All the process unit operations described in
the following section were operated using Niocorp’s dem-
onstration facility designed, built and operated by L3 over
the period March 2021 to January 2024.
PROCESS FLOWSHEET OVERVIEW
The overall Elk Creek Demonstration Plant block flow dia-
gram is presented as Figure 1.
The demonstration plant mandate L3 received from
NioCorp involved proving the novel flowsheet developed
by L3 on a continuous and integrated basis. To that end,
L3 processed approximately 3 metric tons of ore at a rate of
10–15 kg per hour through the integrated demonstration
Figure 1. Elk Creek demonstration plant block flow diagram
This article summarizes the process development effort
undertaken by L3 including the tradeoffs and opportunities
that arose from this new approach of using a high activity
flowsheet for the recovery of scandium and the REE from
Elk Creek Ore. All the process unit operations described in
the following section were operated using Niocorp’s dem-
onstration facility designed, built and operated by L3 over
the period March 2021 to January 2024.
PROCESS FLOWSHEET OVERVIEW
The overall Elk Creek Demonstration Plant block flow dia-
gram is presented as Figure 1.
The demonstration plant mandate L3 received from
NioCorp involved proving the novel flowsheet developed
by L3 on a continuous and integrated basis. To that end,
L3 processed approximately 3 metric tons of ore at a rate of
10–15 kg per hour through the integrated demonstration
Figure 1. Elk Creek demonstration plant block flow diagram