Exploring the Potential of Magnesium
A CRITICAL MINERAL FROM WASTE ROCK
The Minago Ni/PGM deposit sits under about 60 m of dolomite (a type of limestone) cover-rock. Development of the Ni/PGM deposit will first require quarrying 111 million tonnes of dolomite. The significant magnesium (Mg) content of this dolomite (11 to 12%) can supply Canada’s annual primary magnesium metal requirement for over 300 years, with significant room for production growth. And all from what has historically been considered a waste material.
Used in the aerospace, automotive, electronics, and other industries to manufacture light but strong alloys and products and for military applications, the majority (93%) of current global Mg production originates from China (85%) and Russia (8%). Canada has not produced primary Mg metal for decades.
Mg is one of 31 critical minerals identified by Canada for domestic exploration and development, and all of Canada, United States, and the EU are looking for Mg supplies secure from geopolitical tension, and manipulation.
NHCN is assessing the feasibility of Mg extraction from the Minago dolomite. Through two rounds of recovery testing, Mg recovery from Minago dolomite has consistently been in the range of 91 to 94%, producing high quality 99.9 % Mg metal.
Successful implementation would result in an additional significant revenue stream from the same mineral deposit, removing the cost of cover rock quarrying from the Ni/PGM project by turning it into an economic product.
New Low Emission Technology
The vast majority of the world’s Mg supply is produced using very old, inefficient, highly polluting processes like the Pidgeon process used in China.
NHCN is collaborating with a company that has developed a new, energy efficient, low atmospheric emission Mg extraction process. The process does not produce a waste product, instead producing a high-value solid byproduct that has applications in steel refining and in specialty cements. The extraction facility would operate on renewable energy from the Manitoba Hydro grid.
When operated using renewable energy, the technology produces 98% lower CO2 emissions than any Mg extraction technology currently in use. With carbon capture at the dolomite calcining stage, the carbon footprint becomes negative, potentially generating carbon credits.
Mg production from the Minago dolomite would be one of the very first commercial applications of this technology in the world.
On the Fast Track to Mg Production
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Mg production from Minago dolomite can be advanced faster than, and independently of, the Minago Nickel/PGM Project.
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Dolomite is near-surface and the small quantities needed annually for Mg production (<300,000 tonnes per year to meet Canada’s current primary Mg metal demand of 25,000 tonnes Mg/year) can be extracted from a modestly sized quarry.
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Norway House Cree Nation has signed a MOU with a Mg extraction technology company to collaborate on the development of a commercial production facility.
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The new NHCN majority-owned joint-venture company (can we commit to a name for this company now?) would locate the Mg extraction facility on new Norway House Cree Nation reserve lands being established approximately 5 km south of the Minago deposit.
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The JV would purchase dolomite from the Minago Project for Mg extraction.
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The Mg extraction process is modular, allowing incremental increases of production capacity over time.
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Initial Mg production is targeted for late Q4 2027.