Resource World Magazine

j u n e / j u l y 2 0 1 5 www.resourceworld.com 25 • Permitted state-of-the-art heap leach processing facility • NI 43-101 compliant gold resource of 552,000 Measured and Indicated and 165,000 Inferred ounces of gold • Contiguous land package covering more than 25,000 acres PershingGold.com | PGLC FAST-TRACKED TO PRODUCTION Scandium's properties have not gone unno- ticed by the automotive industry, where it could help lighten vehicle components and, again, lead to fuel savings. For example, and considering scandium's ability to withstand heat, aluminium-scandium components could have an important role to play within braking systems. So while scandium is a tiny market – at the moment geared mainly towards strengthening exclusive sport equipment – its potential could be immense. Below follows the details of three companies in the scandium space with plays in New South Wales, Australia worth watching, and one in Nebraska. CleanTeQ Holdings Ltd. [CLQ-ASX] agreed to acquire the Syerston scandium project in New South Wales from a wholly- owned subsidiary of Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. [IVN-TSX] in November 2014. At a cut-off of 300 ppm (parts per million) scandium, the project's measured, indicated and inferred resource stands at 25.4 million tonnes at 414 ppm scandium for 10,516 tonnes scandium contained. Mineralization is close to the surface. CleanTeQ entered into a collaboration agreement on March 10 with Airbus APWorks, seeking to deter- mine the potential demand for scandium and the ability of Syerston to meet it. As part of the deal, the company will produce test samples for Airbus APWorks from its bulk sampling and pilot program. In addition, CleanTeq continues to advance proprietary technology to extract scan- dium within the production process of titanium dioxide. NioCorp. Developments Ltd. [NB-TSX; NIOBF-OTCQX; BR3-FSE] is developing a primary niobium deposit near Elk Creek, southeast Nebraska which also contains scandium. The company released an NI 43-101 compliant resource in February 2015 reporting an indicated resource of 80.5 million tonnes grading 0.71% Nb 2 O 5 (niobium), 2.68% TiO 2 (titanium) and 72 ppm Sc (scandium) and an inferred resource of 99.6 million tonnes grading 0.56% Nb 2 O 5 , 2.31% TiO 2 and 63 ppm Sc (at a 0.3% Nb 2 O cut-off grade). An April 2015 PEA stated a pre-tax NPV of US $875 million with an IRR of 16.6%; an after-tax NPV of US $606 million with an IRR of 14.6% and an average pre-tax cash flow of US $178 million. Scandium International Mining Corp. [SCY-TSX] is advancing the Nyngan scandium project, approximately 500 km northwest of Sydney, New South Wales. The company unveiled a preliminary economic assessment in October 2014, out- lining a capex of $77.4 million, with the mine planned to be a conventional truck and shovel operation. An operating cost of $636 per kg scandium oxide has been estimated, with the company hoping to achieve output of just below 36,000 kg scandium oxide product (scandia) per year. On March 30, the company announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding and an off-take agreement with Ontario-based Alcereco Inc. Under the off-take agreement, the company will sell 7,500 kg of scandia per year to Alcereco for a three-year term starting in 2017. Scandium International is currently advancing a final feasibility review, with a construction decision set for late 2015. First production is planned for 2017. n

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