EMC Metals files a NI43-101 Technical Report for the Nyngan Gilgai Scandium
Deposit and Completes the Second Milestone in their Joint Venture Agreement
with Jervois Mining Ltd.
TSX: EMC
VANCOUVER, April 22 /CNW/ - EMC Metals Corp. (TSX:EMC) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has filed a NI43-101 Technical Report titled "NI43-101 Technical Report on Nyngan Gilgai Scandium Project, Jervois Mining Limited, Nyngan, New South Wales, Australia" with SEDAR and is available at http://www.sedar.com.
The Nyngan Gilgai Scandium Deposit is hosted with the lateritic zone of the Gilgai Alaskan-type, mafic and ultramafic intrusions and contains a NI43-101 compliant resource of 12,012,000 tonnes grading 261 ppm Sc using a 100 ppm Sc cut-off grade.
In 2009, scandium was primarily used to produce high-strength aluminum-scandium alloys. These lightweight alloys were used in high-end sporting equipment such as baseball and softball bats, bicycle frames, and golf clubs as well as minor components for the aerospace industry. An emerging market for scandium lies within the energy industry with the development of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs). SOFCs are devices that produce electricity directly from oxidizing a fuel using a solid oxide, or ceramic, electrolyte.
Currently there are no primary producers of scandium, and the world supply of scandium is produced solely as byproducts from other process streams, mainly from uranium, tungsten, tin and titanium production. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) in its latest report (January, 2010) quotes a price of US$1,400 per kilogram of Sc(2)O(3) for the four previous years.
In Addition to filing the Technical Report, EMC Metals has completed the Conditions Precedent in its Joint Venture Agreement with Jervois Mining Ltd. (Jervois) of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, for the development of the Nyngan Scandium property in New South Wales, Australia.
Mr. William M. Sheriff, A/President of EMC, said: "Along with the filing of the NI43-101 report for this deposit, we have now also completed the first phase in the fulfillment of EMC's obligations under the terms of the Agreement, well ahead of schedule."
Conditions Precedent
The formation of the Joint Venture was conditional on each of the following conditions being completed:
1. EMC being satisfied that Jervois, subject to the Prior Royalty interest, was the sole and beneficial owner of the Joint Venture Property at the date of execution of this Agreement, free of encumbrances or claims by Third Parties and that the Joint Venture Property is in good standing under the relevant legislation. 2. EMC having paid CAD $300,000 into an escrow account administered by the Toronto Dominion Bank and Morton and Company of Vancouver and TD and Morton and Company releasing the Escrow Amount to Jervois once conditions 1-6 were satisfactorily completed. 3. Approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange of the Joint Venture Agreement. 4. Consent of the New South Wales state government to the transactions contemplated in this Agreement. 5. Approval of the Australian Government Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) for the Joint Venture Agreement. 6. Jervois being reasonably satisfied of the financial capacity of EMC to carry out its obligations under the Agreement.
Each of the above conditions has now been met and signed off by both partners allowing EMC Metals to proceed with its planned program for the project. The first phase of the program, which is already in progress, consists of detailed metallurgical testing designed to refine and enhance the flow sheet to extract the Scandium from the ore. EMC is committed to spend at least AUD $500,000 on this phase of the program and intends to spend the bulk of this money on metallurgical test work. Australia's CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Research Organization) has developed a workable flow sheet, recovering over 80% of the Scandium. This flow sheet will be the basis for EMC's focused test program.
Additionally EMC has engaged Roberts & Schaefer of Salt Lake City, Utah, to develop a preliminary engineering study for the Nyngan Scandium Project, which will guide EMC to those areas where improvements in equipment selection will be most beneficial from the capital expenditure point of view.
Mr. Sheriff added: "Considering that the Joint Venture Agreement with Jervois was signed on February 8, we are pleased with the rapid progress we are making to potentially bring this project into production mid to late 2012."
Technical information in this news release has been reviewed by Gilles R. Dessureau, M.Sc. P.Geo, a Qualified Person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101.
About EMC Metals
EMC Metals is focused on sustainable growth through the development and application of technology for specialty and exotic metals. Through successful business developments, EMC intends to utilize its patented technologies to further its efforts in maximizing opportunities in a number of specialty metals including the Nyngan Scandium Joint Venture with Jervois Mining Ltd. of Melbourne, Australia while also planning for future opportunities from its Carlin Vanadium Project, Fostung Tungsten Project and Springer Tungsten Facility.
No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. This press release contains projections and forward-looking information that involve various risks and uncertainties regarding future events. Such forward-looking information can include without limitation statements based on current expectations involving a number of risks and uncertainties and are not guarantees of future performance. There are numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and EMC's plans and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. These and all subsequent written and oral forward-looking information are based on estimates and opinions of management on the dates they are made and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this notice. Except as required by law, EMC assumes no obligation to update forward-looking information should circumstances or management's estimates or opinions change.
For further information: EMC Metals Corp., Investor Relations: (604) 648-4653
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