A Mega Mine, NSW lateritic clay belt, page-121

Sally,

If you saw the CLQ flowsheet, you would realise that your projects of operating cost for CLQ to make scandium oxide are wildly underestimated. CLQ have not been exactly open about what their process for making scandium is, but it is more complicated than CLQ management will have you believe.

The nickel, cobalt and scandium are extracted onto the resin in the RIP process. Contrary to popular belief, the resin is commercially available. The way the resin is moved around in the U-tubes is unique though. The loaded resin is then stripped of Ni, Co and Sc using sulphuric acid. From this solution (referred to as eluate), the scandium is re-extracted onto a second resin which is proprietary to CLQ. The nickel and cobalt and then recovered using solvent extraction using two different chemicals. The scandium loaded resin then needs to be re-stripped with a different acid and then the solutions are neutralised to make a scandium hydroxide.

In comparison to SCY's published process for Nyngan, SCY have a much simpler process whereby the leach solution is contacted with a very selective commercial primary amine. This is then stripped with a hydrochloric acid solution and scandium oxalate produced by adding oxalic acid without any need for expensive neutralisation processing. The scandium oxalate is then heated to make scandium oxide.

The major difference in operating cost is that the $90/kg of scandium oxide for sulphuric acid required by SCY is already being covered by the nickel in the CLQ process. But the CLQ process has the cost of the resin and its degradation and expensive neutralisation stages that SCY does not have. I would not expect CLQ to be able to make scandium oxide for much less than SCY can with their much simpler process, albeit making a lower grade, but still good enough product.

The problem with your assertion that RF will be the driving force in scandium is that the initial high grade Co ores CLQ will be chasing are so low in scandium that it will not be worth recovering. Remember the good scandium grades are not in the same location as the good cobalt grades. Everyone who understands the way these dunite intrusion deposits are formed knows this.

There is still room and time for PGM to make a living out of scandium, although I too would like to see them chasing the platinum and cobalt as well. The scandium markets take time to develop and aren't quite there yet. The "build it and they will come" marketing strategy is a lot of bull. However, I have seen no efforts from Mosig, Hartley and Moller to try to develop scandium markets at all. Maybe the new guy will see some sense and will put some dollars into this aspect of the business.