MGX Minerals Inc has announced the engagement of global mining equipment supplier Metso-Outotec for its British Columbia silicon project.
Vancouver-based MGX said Metso has been tasked with providing design, equipment, and mechanical engineering for the processing of high-grade silica from the company’s wholly owned Gibraltar silica deposit into silicon metal 3303# grade.
The primary piece of processing equipment is a submerged electric arc furnace (SAF) that generates heat up to 1,600 degrees Celsius sufficient to melt the quartzite. The liquid metal is then tapped and poured into bricks and rough crushed into 3-4 inch pieces for shipment.
READ: MGX Minerals strikes distribution partnership with Dong Bang Metal Co of Korea for metallurgical grade silicon
MGX noted that the demand for silicon metal continues to grow and recent supply chain bottlenecks have limited overall supply, creating an opportunity for the distribution of silicon in Asia from North America.
Increased demand for solar panels, microprocessors, and silicon alloys, due to their semi-conductor and structural properties, continues to create large-scale shortages for silicon. The company said Silicon metal 3303# grade is currently quoted at US$3,500 per tonne in East China.
MGX recently entered into a non-binding Letter of Intent (LOI) for business development and distribution partnership with Dong Bang Metal Co. Ltd of Korea for metallurgical grade silicon 3303#. Dong Bang will receive exclusive distribution rights for Asia, inclusive of Korea and Japan.
Meanwhile, the company noted that metallurgical testing on a one-ton sample from its Gibraltar Silica deposit, located 95 kilometers northeast of Cranbrook, British Columbia, has indicated that the material is chemically suitable, as medium quality feedstock, for metallurgical-grade silicon.
The sample was crushed and screened into fractions between 20–120 millimeters (mm) for evaluation of the applicability of these fractions as feedstock for metallurgical-grade silicon production. Results indicate that the material, after comminution and classification fraction, is of high initial purity (99.5 wt%), making the fraction chemically suitable as medium quality feedstock material for metallurgical-grade silicon metal production.
MGX said it has completed five drill holes at Gibraltar. The objective of the drill program was to test subsurface dimensions of high purity quartzite. The Gibraltar North Zone has been sampled, mapped and the area located about 400 meters north of the south zone, represents the continuation of the Mount Wilson Formation quartzite.
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