more information on the cesiumFor the past 25 years or so the global supply of cesium and all its compounds have been produced by two mines; Bikita in Zimbabwe and the Tanco mine in Canada. It appears that both mines have issues with longevity. Bikita was a primary producer of lithium and cesium was a by-product and the mine was open and closed based on the relative price of those products. The recent rise in the price of lithium has enabled Bikita to prosper and it can supply both products to the global market. The question is for how long as Bikita is now a high cost open pit mine and a decrease of price of lithium will not be favorable for Bikita's lifespan. The mines’ natural lives may now be measured in months rather than years as the resource is close to depletion.
Tanco, however, started economic life as a tantalum mine and the cesium part of the deposit was a geological curiosity. Tanco soon became a marginal supplier of Tantalum and was in and out of production several times. However, a fortunate event occurred by way of Shell Oil research that created a new product that is very effective in the drilling of high-temperature and high-pressure oil and gas wells in the North Sea. The product is cesium formate that has a high specific gravity (2.3) and is environmentally benign, as well as having several other excellent properties. Cesium formate is the number one consumer of cesium. But, the Tanco mine is under a lake and possibly some aggressive mining practices may have caused the crown pillar to be compressed and this has caused the flooding of part of the mine and sterilized the mining of some of the cesium resource. We understand that part of the Tanco deposit is not affected and it is being prepared for production. The mine has been processing waste heaps to maintain production. it is a small ore body and given that there is no assurance that the mine can continue and the end of the deposit may be at hand as it is also depleted. So again, it is the same question for both mines: for how long can they produce?
The management of both mines are fully aware that it may be time to look for a new deposit to replace the current level of production and the company’s resource base. Therefore, we believe that the global cesium hunt is on and the hunters are clearly motivated to source a new deposit to replace production that at some point, not years away, they know that they must do this to continue the business they are in- no resource, no business.