Canada Silver Cobalt Works Inc (CVE:CCW) (OTCMKTS:CCWOF) (FRA:4T9B) has said it is to test the capability of its proprietary Re-2OX process to recover rubidium metal from mineralization at Granada Gold Mines' (CVE:GGM) (OTCMKTS:GBBFF) Granada gold mine project in Quebec.
Rubidium has various industrial uses, including in sodium-ion batteries, an energy storage market, which could well see considerable growth ahead.
Rubidium mineralized material at Granada was found above the gold-bearing material that Granada is targeting as a gold resource and for mining.
READ: Canada Silver Cobalt Works hits bonanza grade silver in Vein 2 at Castle property
"Granada currently expects that rubidium will be treated as a zero-cost, by-product alkali metal recovery from Granada's gold mineralized resource," said Frank Basa, Canada Silver Cobalt CEO in a statement
"The preliminary test program will evaluate the potential recovery of rubidium mineralization and the subsequent amenability of the Re-2Ox process for the leaching and production of rubidium salts. Granada Gold intends to review the viability of suppling rubidium salts as a by-product of gold processing for evaluation into the new fast-evolving sodium-ion storage battery market," he added.
Sodium-ion batteries have demonstrated about half the energy density of lithium-ion batteries and could be used in homes, the grid, or backup power for data centers, where cost is key.
In the Earth's crust there is over one-thousand times more sodium than lithium and it costs less to extract and purify. Other uses for rubidium include biomedical research, electronics, specialty glass, and pyrotechnics.
The first stage of testing will consist of straightforward flotation followed by leaching using Re-2Ox. The second stage is straight leaching using the Re-2Ox process which is designed to efficiently extract cobalt and produce cobalt sulphate to specifications required by battery sector end-users. It can also recover precious and base metals.
In a separate statement, Canada Silver Cobalt Works also reported that it had closed a C$2 million private placement, issuing over 1.063 million flow-through (FT) units at C$0.47 per FT unit raising gross proceeds of C$500,000. The company will also issue over 4 million Quebec FT units (QFT units) at C$0.41 each, raising gross proceeds of C$1.5 million. The company is raising in total C$2 million.
The proceeds of the FT private placement will be used for continuing drilling of the Castle East Robinson zone discovery, near the town of Gowganda, Ontario, the firm said.
The proceeds of the QFT private placement will be used for drill testing the recently staked Bouguer gravity anomalies and existing nickel-copper showings in Quebec.
Contact the author at giles@proactiveinvestors.com