2019年10月23日阿瓦隆先进材料公司很高兴地宣布其已与一家美国私营公司（煤炭战略顾问有限责任公司）签订了项目合作意向书，获得了位于美国伊利诺伊州马里恩附近的威尔斯嘉丽（Will Scarlett）稀土回收项目50%的权益。威尔·斯佳丽是一个煤矿区，最近的化学取样发现，其煤矿废料中含有较多的稀土元素和其他金属元素（如钴、镍、锂、锰和锌）。
稀土元素发现于矿区的酸性矿井排水中和矿井排水沉淀物（经过石灰处理后、中和酸性后的）中，且其总稀土氧化物浓度大于500ppm。值得注意的是，与稀土矿不同，威尔斯嘉丽项目中不含铀或钍。
美国对从废煤和煤灰中回收稀土元素的课题进行了大量研究。随着美国宣称要减少对中国资源的依赖性，这一课题的研究得到了进一步地加快。与典型的稀土矿不同，这些项目展示出了以低成本、较快速地供应稀土资源的新机遇。煤炭战略顾问有限责任公司已经向美国政府申请了这一项目的运行资金。
阿瓦隆和煤炭战略顾问有限责任公司即刻进行了分析和工艺试验，确认了氧化物的浓度和从酸性水和沉淀物中提取稀土元素最有效的方法。一旦工艺确定，便可制作出建设工厂的详细预算、股值和权益。初步的分析测试工作已经在进行中。一旦项目试产所需的全部准备工作被完成，阿瓦隆和煤炭战略顾问有限责任公司便会签订合资协议。在与煤炭战略顾问有限责任公司合作中，阿瓦隆还将运用其技术专业知识，保证整体勘探和开发工作的顺利进行。
阿瓦隆公司总裁兼首席执行官唐•布巴（don bubar）说道：“在我们迄今为止的废煤回收稀土的研究中，威尔斯嘉丽项目因其氧化物的高浓度，脱颖而出，并超出我们的预料，与我们位于加拿大新斯科舍省的东肯普特维尔锡矿项目一样，威尔·斯佳丽为阿瓦隆提供了一个机会，以相对较低的成本从以前开采的废料中提取价值，并完全有可能弥补酸性矿山排水对环境造成的长期危害。”
October 23, 2019 (Source) –Avalon Advanced Materials Inc.(TSX: AVL) (OTCQB: AVLNF) (“Avalon” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it has signed a binding Letter of Intent (“LOI”) with a private US company, Coal Strategy Advisors, LLC, (“CSA”) to earn up to a 50% interest in the Will Scarlett Rare Earths Recovery Project (“Will Scarlett”) located near Marion, Illinois. Will Scarlett is a closed coal mine site where recent geochemical sampling has found elevated levels of rare earth elements (or “REE”) and other metallic elements such as cobalt, nickel, lithium, manganese and zinc in mine waste materials.
The rare earths are found at Will Scarlett in the acid mine drainage (“AMD”) and in the precipitates generated from lime treatment of the AMD to neutralize the acidity. Sampling of the precipitates and AMD has revealed high concentrations of total rare earth oxides in excess of 500 ppm. Also notable is that, unlike most hardrock rare earth resources, no significant uranium or thorium has been detected associated with the rare earths at Will Scarlett.
The potential for economic recovery of rare earths from coal mine wastes and fly ash has been receiving a lot of study in the United States. This has accelerated recently with the introduction of new US government initiatives to reduce reliance on China as a source of these critical minerals. These unusual occurrences represent an interesting opportunity to create a new primary rare earths supply relatively quickly and at a low cost compared to typical hardrock resources. CSA has made application for funding being made available by the US government for new rare earth supply chain projects.
Avalon and CSA plan to proceed immediately with analytical and process testwork to confirm concentration levels and the most efficient extraction process to recover the rare earths from the AMD and precipitates. Once this is confirmed, a detailed budget for construction of a demonstration plant can be established which will then determine what the Company’s share of costs will be to earn its interest in Will Scarlett. Initial analytical testwork is already in progress. Avalon and CSA will enter a formal joint venture agreement once the full scope of work required to advance the project to initial production is determined. Avalon will also be providing its technical expertise to help manage the exploration and development work at the site in collaboration with CSA.
Commented Avalon President and CEO, Don Bubar, “In our research to date on rare earths in coal mine wastes, Will Scarlett stands out as exceptional in terms of the levels of rare earths present in the AMD. Like our East Kemptville Tin Project in Nova Scotia, Will Scarlett provides Avalon with an opportunity to extract value out of previously-mined waste materials at a relatively low cost, and potentially fully remediate the long term environmental liability associated with acid mine drainage at the site.”
（source：investorintel）
