Toronto-PhosCan Chemical Corp. said March 26 that it has signed an agreement with IAMGOLD Corp. for the evaluation of the potential to recover and sell niobium contained on the Martison phosphate property near Hearst, Ont. IAMGOLD, which owns and operates the niobec underground mine located near Chicoutimi, Québec, will pay for niobium testing and a possible feasibility study, which could lead to a joint venture with PhosCan to extract, process, and market niobium from the Martison deposit. PhosCan says the project contains low grade niobium mineralization and is also overlaid by a higher-grade niobium-enriched lateritic oxide cap in the northern portion. Niobium is used in alloys to strengthen steel.
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