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ENPAR Technologies Inc. - Followup testing confirms high nickel recovery from mine tailings
ENPAR Technologies Inc. - Followup testing confirms high nickel recovery from mine tailings.
About this update from Current Water Technologies Inc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\n\nExtrEL REPRESENTS ECONOMIC SOLUTION FOR NICKEL RECOVERY FROM MINE \nTAILINGS \n\nGUELPH, ON, May 25 /CNW/ - ENPAR is pleased to report that additional\ntesting of its ExtrEL Leaching Technology conducted on nickel mine tailings\nduring the past 4 months, has confirmed its earlier findings. The testing\nresulted in nickel recovery ranging from 58% to 77%. The company is extremely\nexcited that it can now duplicate the results on demand.\nENPAR initially reported in December that leaching of up to 77% of the\nnickel contained in samples of nickel mine tailings grading up to 1.2% Ni was\nobtained while employing its ExtrEL Technology.\nOptimization of the ExtrEL leaching process is scheduled to begin in \nJune 2006, with completion expected 3 months later. These results will form\nthe basis for design of a pilot unit for relatively large-scale testing.\nBased on testing results to date, the predominant operating cost is\npower, which at $0.38 per kilogram of nickel metal recovered is considered to\nbe quite low.\nThe Company plans to proceed through pilot testing to a commercial plant\nwithin the next 18 months. Preliminary cost modeling suggests that the capital\ncost of the equipment would be recovered within 1 to 1.5 years. However, the\ncompany cautions that additional testing is required before firm conclusions\ncan be made about the potential commercialization of this process.\nThe ability to recover nickel from what is currently perceived as a waste\nmaterial represents an enormous financial opportunity for ENPAR, its\nshareholders and the mining industry.\nIn addition, the ExtrEL Leaching Technology may become a primary\nhydrometallurgical treatment method for the traditional concentrate from the\nmill floatation circuit.\nOnce proven on a commercial scale, the ExtrEL Leaching Technology could\npotentially be used as an alternative to conventional smelting facilities\nwhich require considerable capital and represent major environmental concerns.\nThis would enable both large and small mining companies to process the\nore concentrate on-site and ship metal for refining, instead of shipping ore\nfor primary processing.\n\n Opportunities for ENPAR\n -----------------------\n\nAccording to published information, the Company estimates that there are\nhundreds of millions of tonnes of mill sulphide tailings containing\n...