Junior miner First Phosphate Corp., Saguenay, Quebec, on June 19 announced that it has completed the commissioning of its pilot plant to produce phosphate concentrate. The concentrate will be used in the formulation of battery-grade purified phosphoric acid for use in the manufacture of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode active material for the LFP battery industry in North America.
The pilot plant, which the company said uses fully solventless, environmentally friendly extraction methods, is located at the Quebec City facilities of SGS Canada Inc., a multinational company that provides inspection, verification, testing, and certification services.
“The commissioning of the pilot plant is a major milestone for First Phosphate in the processing of battery-grade purified phosphoric acid that will be used in the LFP homologation process with our partners,” said Peter Kent, First Phosphate President.
Following positive bench test results that demonstrated a recovery of 91.4% of phosphate-bearing apatite to a concentrate containing 40.2% P2O5, First Phosphate decided to build the pilot plant to process a large, 15-ton bulk sample that optimizes the company’s metallurgical process for the production of high-grade phosphate concentrate approaching 41% P2O5.
Based on 15 separate crushed rock specimens, the bulk sample tested by SGS assayed 7.6% P2O5 and 6.9% titanium oxide. “SGS is committed to First Phosphate as a trusted partner,” said Dominique Lascelles, Director, Technical Services, at SGS. “The test work to-date has proven positive, and we are happy to have completed this full pilot plant program with First Phosphate.”
The pilot plant has produced over 900 kilograms of apatite concentrate, which were sent to the facilities of Prayon SA in Belgium, Europe’s largest producer of battery-grade purified phosphoric acid (PPA). Prayon and First Phosphate signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in February to collaborate on PPA production (GM March 3, p. 1).
First Phosphate said the battery-grade PPA produced by Prayon will then be sent to company partners for homologation into their LFP cathode active material production processes. The company said the pilot plant also produces marketable recoveries of ilmenite and magnetite.
First Phosphate holds 1,500 square kilometers of total land claims in the Saguenay Region, some 110 kilometers north of the City of Saguenay, which it is actively developing to produce battery grade phosphate at ESG standards and with a low-carbon footprint (GM Oct. 14, 2022).