CoTec believes the technology could represent a step change in the bulk handling of iron and manganese tailings, offering the company the opportunity to produce high grade critical mineral iron and manganese concentrates from ultra-fine tailings, material which is currently classified as waste and sent directly to tailings storage facilities.
As part of the collaboration, CoTec will have an exclusivity period for the application of the MGS to iron ore globally and manganese in the United States, South Africa, and Brazil for three years. This exclusivity period can be extended by achieving certain milestones. CoTec and Salter will actively collaborate on an asset-by-asset basis to apply the technology to identified iron and manganese assets.
The market opportunity for CoTec is significant with millions of tonnes of tailings being produced from ongoing operations, as well as historical iron tailings located in the traditional iron ore mining districts of the United States, Canada, Brazil, Australia, and South Africa. The technology offers CoTec the opportunity to target assets in these regions with the aim of becoming a mid-tier producer of high-grade concentrate.
With the application of the MGS technology to manganese in South Africa and Brazil, CoTec is targeting assets located in two major regions of manganese ore production, which together represent approximately 40% of the global manganese market.
The exclusive application of the MGS gives CoTec the opportunity to become a supplier of manganese concentrate to the high purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM) industry in the United States.
The HPMSM sector is dominated by Chinese supply, and EV manufacturers will need to establish new sources of supply to mitigate future critical supply risks to meet market demand.
CoTec has already identified multiple sites where the technology could be applied to both historic tailings and ongoing operations.
CoTec's strategy is to acquire assets or to enter into joint venture agreements with existing operators where CoTec will either look to treat historic tailings and/or install the MGS machines as part of their current recovery circuit, thereby increasing overall recovery and reducing the amount of material sent to tailings. This technology further supports the strategy of expediting early revenue through low capital, low carbon technologies and brown field permitting processes.
Julian Treger, CoTec CEO commented:
"We are very pleased to have entered into an agreement with Salter, a company that has a long history with the MGS technology. Our initial due diligence of the MGS has produced exciting results from our Lac Jeannine Project in Québec, Canada, achieving concentrate grades of critical mineral status from ultra-fine iron tailings.
“We plan to build on these results in the coming months, supporting CoTec's strategy to become a leading supplier of high grade, low carbon, iron concentrate through the processing of tailings material. The application of the technology to manganese also offers us the opportunity to become a supplier of high-grade manganese concentrate to the steel industry, and producers of high purity manganese sulphate monohydrate industry.”