Western Magnesium Corp. (TSX-V:WMG, OTCQB:MLYF) has noted that factory acceptance testing of its electrical and instrumentation equipment has been fully approved and it is to ship a distributed control system to its pilot plant.
The Washinton, DC-based company which aims to be a low-cost producer of magnesium, a strategic metal prized for its strength and light weight, explained that the Emerson DeltaV Distributed Control System (DCS) is a computerized control system that “controls, monitors, and stores” all variables of the company's magnesium production processes in the plant.
Known for its high reliability, the DCS will “ensure a safe, efficient and successful demonstration” of the proprietary Western Magnesium manufacturing process, said the company. “The equipment is scheduled to arrive at the commercial pilot plant facility this month,” it added.
READ: Western Magnesium aiming to become world’s low-cost producer of eco-friendly, high-quality magnesium
While the industrial level DCS and Motor Control Center is not typically required for a pilot plant, the company said it elected to implement it at this time. Using this equipment at the Canadian commercial pilot plant will provide the required data to successfully design, build and operate the future commercial facility in the US, noted the company.
In a statement, Edward Lee, who is the executive chairman of Western Magnesium Corp. , said: "Using this highly detailed control system guarantees a higher level of confidence for data collection and automated process control as we scale our process for the future commercial production facility in Harrison County, Ohio."
Meanwhile, the company’s CEO Sam Ataya noted that Western Magnesium is “revolutionizing an eco-friendly magnesium metal and alloys process” in America.
“What we have witnessed in this test is that our chosen service provider has delivered a high-quality product that will produce the data required to accelerate the build-out of our future commercial facility," added Ataya.
Unlike outdated and costly production processes, Western Magnesium looks to use a continuous silicothermic process to produce magnesium, which significantly reduces labor and energy costs relative to current methods and processes, while being environmentally friendly.
Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at uttara@proactiveinvestors.com
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