MONTRÉAL, QUÉBEC--(Marketwired - Dec. 22, 2015) - Quest Rare Minerals Ltd. (TSX:QRM) (Quest) has announced the appointment of Dr. Dirk Naumann as President of the Company.
Dr. Naumann has been instrumental in the development of the Quest project to its current stage. He joined the Company in May 2013 as Vice-President Development and was promoted to Executive Vice-President in January 2014. In his new position, he will continue to drive project development activities, notably through close collaboration with premier industrial organizations in Asia and Europe.
Speaking on behalf of the Board of Directors, Executive Chairman Pierre Lortie commented, "Dirk's appointment comes at a pivotal time for Quest. He played a critical role in the development of the eco-friendly selective thermal sulphation (STS) process which is specifically designed to extract from granite the rare earth elements contained in the Strange Lake deposit and produce a mixed rare earth oxide with a purity in excess of 99.7% at world competitive costs." The STS process has been successfully tested; Quest is now proceeding with a commercial pilot for which it has been recently awarded a $5 million grant from Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC).
This appointment is a clear recognition by the Board that the key to the successful completion of a rare earth project does not reside in the mining operations but in the refining of the ore to separate the rare earth elements from the gangue that holds it. Given Dr. Naumann's extensive experience with international chemical and metallurgical companies in metal extraction and refining, high purity metals, and materials and compounds for specialty applications, he ''is perfect for the job".
See Dr. Naumann's biography here.
ABOUT QUEST
Quest Rare Minerals Ltd. ("Quest") is a Canadian-based company focused on becoming an integrated producer of rare earth metal oxides and a significant participant in the rare earth elements (REE) material supply chain. Quest is led by a management team with in-depth experience in chemical and metallurgical processing. Quest's objective is the establishment of major hydrometallurgical and refining facilities in Bécancour, Québec, to separate and produce strategically critical rare earth metal oxides. These industrial facilities will process mineral concentrates extracted from Quest's Strange Lake mining properties in northern Québec and recycle lamp phosphors utilizing Quest's efficient, eco-friendly selective thermal sulphating process.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains statements that may constitute "forward-looking information" or "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information and statements may include, among others, statements regarding the future plans, objectives or performance of Quest, including the Strange Lake Rare Earth Project's technical and pre-economic feasibility, future financing by Quest, or the assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. In this news release, words such as "may," "would," "could," "will," "likely," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "estimate," and similar words and the negative form thereof are used to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether-or the times at or by which-such future performance will be achieved. No assurance can be given that any events anticipated by the forward-looking information will transpire or occur, including the development of the Strange Lake Rare Earth Project or any financing by Quest, or if any of them do so, what benefits Quest will derive from them.
Forward-looking statements and information are based on information available at the time, and/or management's good-faith belief with respect to future events, and are subject to known or unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and other unpredictable factors, many of which are beyond Quest's control. These risks, uncertainties and assumptions include, but are not limited to, estimates relating to capital costs and operating costs based upon anticipated tonnage and grades of resources to be mined and processed, and the expected recovery rates, together with those described under "Risk Factors" in Quest's final short-form prospectus dated July 9, 2014, under "Risk Factors" in Quest's annual information form dated January 27, 2015, and under "Risk Factors" in Quest's Management's Discussion and Analysis for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2014, all of which are available on SEDAR at http://www.sedar.com, and could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statements. Quest does not intend, nor does Quest undertake any obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking information or statements contained in this news release to reflect subsequent information, events or circumstances or otherwise, except if required by applicable law.