Sumitomo to open rare earth plant in Palawan

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Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. Ltd. (SMM) is looking to construct a scandium recovery pilot plant at the facilities of its Palawan-based subsidiary Coral Bay Nickel Corporation (CBNC).

JAPANESE INTEREST. Sumitomo Metal Mining is set to open a scandium plant in Palawan.

MANILA, Philippines – Japanese firm Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. Ltd. (SMM) is looking to construct a scandium recovery pilot plant at the facilities of its Palawan-based subsidiary Coral Bay Nickel Corporation (CBNC). Scandium is a rare element used in the production of aluminum, solid oxide fuel cells, halide lamps and alkaline batteries.

In a disclosure to the PSE on Monday, March 11, The planned pilot plant in southern Palawan will test the commercial viability of recovering scandium in oxide form after the element goes though SMM’s high-pressure acid leach (HPAL) process. If tests yield positive results, the facility will be the first in the country to produce a rare earth element.

Taganito HPAL Nickel Corp. in Taganito, Surigao del Norte, another subsidiary of SMM, is expected to follow suit with recovering scandium oxide if the test in the CBNC plant is successful.

The CBNC facility is the first downstream nickel processing plant in the country. It produces nickel-cobalt sulfide from low-grade lateritic nickel ore. The company sources its ore from Rio Tuba Mining Corp., of which it holds a 60% stake.

In a company statement, SMM said that it plans to finish construction of the scandium oxide pilot plant by the end of 2013. SMM added that it trial production will start at 10 kilograms per month in 2014. – Rappler.com

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