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The Metals Company Processing Pilot Campaign Converts Seafloor Nodules into Alloy Containing Critical Battery Metals
The work brings The Metals Company one step closer to realizing its ambition of pursuing full-scale metallurgical processing plant to produce critical
About this update from Tmc The Metals Company Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\nThe work brings The Metals Company one step closer to realizing its ambition of pursuing full-scale metallurgical processing plant to produce critical battery metals\n\n\n NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--\nThe Metals Company (Nasdaq: TMC), an explorer of lower-impact battery metals from seafloor polymetallic nodules, today announced that it derived an alloy comprised of high-grade battery metals from its pilot smelting campaign, conducted in partnership with Expert Process Solutions (XPS) with support from Hatch and Optimize Group. The smelting work builds on last year’s calcining campaign at FLSmidth’s facilities, which demonstrated that conventional, well-proven rotary kiln technology can be utilised for this process\nThis press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210924005053/en/The Metals Company Processing Pilot Campaign Converts Seafloor Nodules into Alloy Containing Critical Battery Metals (Photo: Business Wire)\nLed by The Metals Company’s Head of Onshore Development, Dr. Jeffrey Donald, the pilot project team utilized a custom process derived from conventional nickel flowsheets to segregate the base metals contained in the nodules into two concentrated streams: an alloy comprised of critical metals essential for EV batteries and wiring including nickel, cobalt, and copper; and a manganese silicate which can be sold direct to market and further processed to manganese alloy — a critical input to steel production.\n\n“From a metallurgical perspective, nodules are a great feedstock to work with,” said Dr. Donald. “They have high grades of valuable metals, few impurities, low variability, and come in shapes and sizes that make them very easy to handle, significantly reducing the cost and complexity of the processing.”\n\nThis latest stage in The Metals Company’s pilot processing program brings the company one step closer to realizing its ambition of building a full-scale metallurgical processing plant and advances the company’s mission of eliminating the solid waste streams and harmful tailings and residues associated with conventional land-based metal mining and production.\n\n“These encouraging results show that nodules could provide an attractive alternative to land-based ores for securing high-volumes of the critical metals needed to achieve energy independence...