Western Magnesium Corp told investors that commissioning of its pilot reactor was now complete and that the preparation of feed material was underway.
The company has developed a proprietary technology, which can generate magnesium metal with low labor, high automation, low energy and zero toxic by-products and waste.
This new reactor is being tested at the company's partner facilities in Fort St. John, British Columbia and is not only to be deployed in the commercial pilot plant, currently under construction and on track in the Lower Mainland, British Columbia, but also for the 100,000 metric tonne commercial plant being built in Ohio, US, the firm noted.
"I’m excited to have the commissioning process finally behind us and I’m looking forward to our next steps," Western Magnesium CEO Sam Ataya said in a statement.
"Not only will the new reactor be able to produce magnesium metal at our Fort St. John facility, but we will be able to expand production once our main commercial pilot plant is fully assembled and operational. These two separate events are coming to fruition in a timely manner according to management’s expectations."
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He added: "We are now close to not only producing next generation technology which will be incorporated into current and future designs that will bring efficiency and increase profitability to the company, but our commercial pilot plant is close to final assembly and ultimately the production of magnesium metal."
All electrical, instrumentation, and vacuum testing are now complete, said the company, and the reactor is now ready to receive feed.
"The equipment used in this test will verify that our materials of construction are correct and confirm other very valuable data for our continuous operation that will follow after these tests are completed," it added.
Meanwhile, the construction of the commercial pilot plant is underway and progressing well, said the firm.
Factory Acceptance Testing has begun for the electrical and instrumentation equipment. Structural steel installation is ongoing, and the remainder of the equipment is scheduled to arrive once the steel work is complete.
"Management feels confident that we are on track with our timeline for the assembly, testing and ultimately the production of magnesium metal," the group summed up.
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