Mineral Processing

Simple low-cost processing, consisting essentially of crushing and pelletization circuits, is all that is required to produce the planned polyhalite products. The processing plant is essentially dry with only minimal water required for the pelletization process all of which can be adequately supplied from existing water supply to the Jal site and/or limited water boreholes.

The conceptual design of the processing facility is configured to produce two polyhalite products.

1. Granular (4-10 mesh crystalline polyhalite material)
2. Pelletized (4-10 mesh agglomerated polyhalite material)

These size ranges were established based on similar competing polyhalite products. Each product is raw mineral supplied directly from the mine, with the exception of the pelletized product which will require a small amount of binder added.

The processing plant at the Jal site receives ROM material trucked from the mine to the plant and unloaded via a drive-over truck unloader. Ore will be delivered to dome storage via conveyor. Material is reclaimed by a flat-back feeder and conveyed to the sizing circuit. The ore will be crushed and screened to produce a granular (coarse) material. Generated fines will be removed from the system at each sizing and screening phase and conveyed to the pelletization plant. The Granular and Pelletized products will be conveyed to an intermediate product storage bin, and on to individual 60,000 ton product storage domes. The products will be reclaimed and transferred to a screening station to remove fines generated through handling. The material is then conveyed to the rail loadout station, where train cars will be loaded for pickup.

Highlights

Full details of the process design and capital estimates can be found in the March 2017 Feasibility Study.