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Tertiary Minerals expects Lassedalen scoping study next month

Published: 07:57 11 Jul 2012 BST

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Tertiary Minerals (LON:TYM) today said it expects the completion of a scoping study on the Lassedalen project by the end of August.

It says the report is now at an advanced stage. 

Additionally sufficient metallurgical testing has now been completed to support a preliminary flow sheet design. And results are said to be positive for the production of higher value, acid grade, fluorspar with good recoveries.

"I am pleased the study is on schedule and look forward to the result,” said operations director Richard Clemmey.

"This is the first economic and technical evaluation of the Lassedalen project and will form the basis for a decision on more advance feasibility studies and drilling.” 

The project currently hosts a 4 million tonne JORC resource grading 25 per cent fluorspar. And an upcoming drill programme, scheduled for the autumn, aims to expand this resource.

Lassedalen is one of two fluorspar projects being developed in Scandanavia by Tertiary. Storuman is the other. There, Tertiary is looking to establish a 100,000 tonne per year ‘acid grade’ fluorspar mining operation.

Currently the permitting process is on schedule and additional metallurgical work is underway, Tertiary said.

This will form part of the feasibility study for the project. The metallurgical work is focused on testing ore from two different zones – the upper and lower zones.

Tertiary says that results have been excellent from the upper zone, where the ore has produced acid grade fluorspar with very high recoveries. Meanwhile, work is ongoing for the lower zone ore.

Overall this work will determine whether the two types of mineralisation are best blended together prior to processing or whether it would be better to process each type of ore separately through a concentration plant.

Meanwhile the company says that environmental permitting is progressing well, and consultation regarding reindeer herding is underway.

Additionally it said that tenders have been received for an engineering study but a decision won’t be made for another six months.

Last month Tertiary sealed a deal with Darwin Strategic for up to £10 million in new funding via an equity line facility.

Fluorspar, a type of calcium fluoride, is a critically important industrial mineral used in the manufacture of acids and chemicals.

Like other strategic minerals the market is strongly influenced by China. Tertiary says that China is reportedly tightening its grip on supply and it is likely to reduce exports in the future due to fears that Chinese fluorspar reserves are being exhausted.

And Tertiary says that European fluorspar prices are stable despite an uncertain economic outlook.

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