Rio Tinto launches ore-sorting demonstration
CA$7.6mln is being invested to assess an ore-sorting technology in Canada.
The Lac Tio (Havre St-Pierre) mines titanium. Titanium ore features in the image above in the form of small pieces with admixtures of silicon fragments.
© Serhii Hrebeniuk/ShutterstockThe project in Havre-Saint-Pierre’s Rio Tinto mine will reportedly allow ore to be sorted directly at the source based on titanium and scandium content, two minerals considered critical and strategic even at low grades.
The aim is to separate commercially exploitable rock from waste rock more efficiently, potentially reducing the material transported between the mine and the Rio Tinto Iron and Titanium Quebec Operations’ Metallurgical and Critical Minerals Complex in Sorel-Tracy.
The Government of Quebec will contribute CA$2.5mln to this initiative at Rio Tinto's Lac Tio mine, through its support programme for the scale-up of mineral processing or primary transformation for critical and strategic minerals.
This full-scale industrial demonstration will, according to Rio Tinto, also allow potential optimisations of the ore pre-treatment process to be assessed at the Sorel-Tracy plant, improving mineral resource management, and exploring options for accessing parts of the deposit that were previously considered unprofitable, potentially extending the mine lifespan.
The project will be deployed in two phases. In 2025, the activities will focus on engineering, commissioning of the ore-sorting circuit and technological validation.
In 2026, additional equipment will be integrated to automate the process and produce multiple batches of enriched ore.
