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Giga Metals to Pursue MHP Production at Turnagain Nickel Project
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 15, 2021) - Martin Vydra, President of Gig...
About this update from Giga Metals Corporation
[{"type":"text","content":"Giga Metals to Pursue MHP Production at Turnagain Nickel ProjectVancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 15, 2021) - Martin Vydra, President of Giga Metals Corp. (TSXV: GIGA) (OTCQB: HNCKF) (FSE: BRR2) announced today that the Company is investigating expansion of processing at the Turnagain Ni/Co project to include Mixed Hydroxide Precipitate (MHP) production in its next phase of studies. MHP is a chemical form of nickel and cobalt that is experiencing rapid demand increase for its role in the supply chain for lithium ion batteries.\"MHP is quickly establishing itself as the intermediate of choice by the battery industry in the manufacturing of metal salts (NiSO4 and CoSO4) and is being pursued to directly produce precursors and cathode active materials,\" said Mr. Vydra. \"We know from previous testwork and engineering that Turnagain concentrate is amenable to processing into high quality MHP.\"Currently MHP is produced globally at four commercial facilities: Ramu, VNC-Goro, Ravensthorpe and Gordes. All of these operations utilize high pressure acid leaching (HPAL) of laterite ores and the current annual global supply capacity is estimated at 125,000 tonnes of Ni contained in MHP.Additionally, six projects have been announced, five of which are in Indonesia, which are expected to bring MHP production capacity to 400,000 tonnes per year of contained Ni by 2025. This would rival the market of Class I briquettes, powder and oxides, which are currently the major source of raw material for battery grade NiSO4 production, and implies a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 33% in MHP production compared to estimated CAGR of 4% for nickel and 8% for cobalt, according to a McKinsey study.Historical hydrometallurgical testwork was on Turnagain concentrates of lower grades compared to the current high-grade concentrate as shown in the table below. Concentrate Grades for Past Testwork and PEA ResultsNi %Co %Fe %S %Mg %Cu %Historical4.5 - 100.2 - 0.520 - 4510 - 255 - 190.2 - 0.32020 PEA Concentrate (Table 13.8)201.232264.40.5 As summarized in the 2020 PEA, 17 historical tests indicated high extractions of nickel and cobalt (>97.5%) at both low and high-temperature pressure oxidation conditions, and in both sulphate and chloride systems. Testwork further demonstrated the ability to process the resulting leach solutions t...