RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: A little something I think the answer is in the following (method of backfilling all gange as a paste back into the mine).
No need to transport it twice and deal with the thorium both ways.
The Critical Metals Report Interview with Michael Niehuser (10/23/12) "Ucore Rare Metals Inc. has a HREE project in southeast Alaska. The Bokan Mountain project is located near Ketchikan, Alaska. The company is rapidly advancing the project and has recently completed several firsts, which investors may not have taken into account. It recently announced successful separation of HREEs including dysprosium, neodymium and erbium, producing a purified salable product. In addition, this process nearly removes all of the undesirable elements including iron, uranium and thorium, which may be returned to the mine in paste back fill together with all of the mine tailings. This means Ucore's Bokan operation will have minimal daylight expression at surface and a very small environmental footprint. . .Ucore has impressed several layers of government in Alaska, and the U.S. The U.S. Department of Defense has recognized the importance of the project in securing a sustainable North American resource of HREEs.
. . .Bokan Mountain has an Inferred resource of about 5.3 Mt of 0.65% TREO, of which 40% is enriched by HREEs. This is a modest initial resource estimate. The project is open to expansion, and it has excellent potential for value enhancement with the new Solid Phase Extraction process. The positive results of the study have led the company to delay completion of the PEA, but it has good potential for accelerating in improving the confidence in the bankable feasibility study. Upon completion of the PEA, Ucore will also be able to actively pursue off-take partners. From our vantage point, we see its partnership with the Department of Defense as providing substantial long-term support, mitigating political risk." More >