Date: Thu Dec 11 19:00:28 2014
South Boulder Mines commences pilot testing for Colluli potash
by <http://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/pages/the_team> Proactive
Investors
Thursday, December 11, 2014
South Boulder has now commenced pilot testing of the Colluli process design
at the Saskatchewan Research Council in Saskatoon, Canada.
<http://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/companies/overview/1142/South+Boulder+
Mines> South Boulder Mines (
<http://www.proactiveinvestors.com/companies/overview/1142/south-boulder-min
es-1142.html> ASX:STB) continues to advance the Colluli Potash Project in
Eritrea, and has now commenced pilot testing of the Colluli process design
at the Saskatchewan Research Council in Saskatoon, Canada.
Colluli hosts a highly-favourably suite of potassium bearing salts for low
cost production of potassium sulphate (SOP or sulphate of potash) using
simple mineral processing units (flotation and mixing).
Commercial grade SOP has already been produced from Colluli salts at the
Saskatchewan Resource Council.
SOP achieves a substantial price premium over the more common potassium
chloride.
Paul Donaldson, managing director for South Boulder, commented:
"We are pleased that we have been able to develop the test program and
commence its execution well ahead of the pre-feasibility study completion.
"This will allow a seamless integration of the pilot plant data with the
definitive feasibility study design and final costings.
"Given the process is relatively simple, and commercially proven, the pilot
plant is simply an exercise to ensure all of the plant equipment is
correctly sized for the final process."
South Boulder and the Eritrean National Mining Company (ENAMCO) are equal
shareholders of the Colluli Mining Share Company (CMSC) which will develop
the Colluli Potash project.
At Colluli over 1 billion tonnes of potassium bearing salts have been
defined, which are suitable for the production of potash fertilisers.
Testing program
The testing is being conducted under the supervision of Global Potash
Solutions, and follows the Pre-Feasibility design testwork, which was done
as bench scale testing.
The pilot plant will provide the following critical information:
- Confirmation of the potassium sulphate (SOP) tonnes per seawater tonne;
- Confirmation of decomposition kinetics;
- Confirmation of precipitation kinetics and retention time;
- Enhancement of particle size; and
- Samples for marketing.
The pilot plant will utilise potassium bearing salts from the Colluli
resource. Samples were dispatched to the test facility and preparation for
pilot plant testing has been completed.
What is Potassium sulphate (SOP)
SOP is a high value potash fertiliser, which provides both potassium and
sulphur in soluble forms.
It has a lower alt index than MOP (no chloride), and is suitable for
chloride sensitive crops such as fruit, berries, vines, nuts, coffee and
tobacco.
SOP is ideal for arid areas where chlorides cannot be washed away, and is
used when soil or irrigation water salt levels are high and MOP is
undesirable.
Analysis
South Boulder has now commenced pilot testing of the Colluli process design
at the Saskatchewan Research Council in Saskatoon, Canada.
Commercial grade SOP achieves a substantial price premium over the more
common potassium chloride, and has already been produced from Colluli salts
at the Saskatchewan Resource Council.
Colluli is strategically located closer to port than potassium sulphate
peers with trucking a low cost option to access port, with deepwater access
at Anfile Bay suitable for loading vessels up to Panamax size.
The company expects the Colluli PFS to be complete in February 2015.
South Boulder is well funded with cash at hand of $10.2 million as at 30
September 2014.
Major shareholders include Sprott Asset Management with 10.96% and Kam Lung
Investment Development with 7.17%.
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South Boulder has now commenced pilot testing of the Colluli process design
at the Saskatchewan Research Council in Saskatoon, Canada.
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