White Mountain Receives Final Report on Feldspar Processing and Adds to Its Engineering Team
SANTIAGO, Chile, Sept. 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- White Mountain Titanium Corporation ("White Mountain" or the "Company") (OTC Bulletin Board: WMTM) reports that it has received the final report from SGS Lakefield ("SGS") dealing with processing Cerro Blanco rutile tailings to produce a high grade, sodium feldspar concentrate. This concentrate could find application as a flux and in the glass and ceramics industries.
Utilizing rutile tailings from the previously reported pilot plant test work, SGS examined a number of metallurgical parameters including differential flotation of sodium and potassium feldspars through the use of a variety of flotation collectors and activation modifiers. More than twenty separate flotation tests were carried out to optimise the process flow sheet. Locked cycle tests were then performed and repeated to confirm reproducibility.
Test results established that under optimum conditions a sodium feldspar concentrate assaying 9.96% Na2O and 0.19% Fe2O3 could be produced. Silica and alumina levels were 66.30% SiO2 and 21.00% Al2O3 respectively. Importantly, in all tests iron content in concentrate assayed less than 0.3% Fe2O3. The report recommends further test work which would eventually involve a full scale pilot plant similar to that used to test the Cerro Blanco rutile concentrate process flow sheet.
In other developments, the Company has added four professional engineers to its project team. Reporting to Dr. Antonio Luraschi, Cerro Blanco Project Manager, the additional personnel's responsibilities cover a broad range of activities including permitting and environmental, mine planning and design, process engineering – including electrical and mechanical disciplines, infrastructure and costing.
Commenting on these developments, Mike Kurtanjek, the Company's President and CEO, said, "Results from the feldspar test work are very encouraging. Depending on potential customer interest, successful piloting and projected concentrate pricing and costing, the co-production of a sodium feldspar concentrate could make a meaningful, incremental contribution to the project's economics. That said, the economics of the Cerro Blanco final feasibility will be based solely on the production of rutile. Meeting the Company's stated timeline for delivery of rutile concentrate is a top priority, both for our customers and for our shareholders. Out of necessity, further evaluation of the possible co-production of sodium feldspar concentrate from rutile tailings will be undertaken as a separate project with its own budget, milestones and timeline." He went on to say, "Given the strong demand and competition for consulting engineering services, adding in-house engineering expertise further strengthens our ability to meet our production timeline."
About White Mountain Titanium Corporation
The Company holds mining concessions on the Cerro Blanco property currently consisting of 33 registered mining exploitation concessions and five mining exploration concessions in the process of being constituted, over approximately 8,225 hectares located approximately 39 kilometres west of the City of Vallenar in the Atacama, or Region III, geographic region of northern Chile. The Company's principal objectives are to advance the Cerro Blanco project towards a final engineering feasibility, and to secure off-take contracts for the planned rutile concentrate output. It would be the intention to sell the rutile concentrate to titanium metal and pigment producers. Work also continues to investigate the commercial viability of producing a feldspar co-product. The feldspar could find applications in the glass and ceramics industries.
The OTC BB has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release may contain forward-looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt of property titles, potential mineral recovery processes, etc. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and, therefore, involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements.
Cautionary Note to U.S. Investors—The United States Securities and Exchange Commission permits mining companies, in their filings with the SEC, to disclose only those mineral deposits that a company can economically and legally extract or produce. We may use certain terms in our press releases and on our website, such as 'reserves,' 'resources,' 'geologic resources,' 'proven,' 'probable,' 'measured,' 'indicated,' and 'inferred,' that the SEC guidelines strictly prohibit us from including in our filings with the SEC. U.S. investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our annual report on Form 10K for the year ended December 31, 2007, File No. 333-129347, and in subsequent filings with the SEC. You can review and obtain copies of our filings from the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml.
Contact:
White Mountain Titanium Corporation
Michael Kurtanjek, President
(56) 2 657-1800
Brian Flower, Chairman
(604) 408-2333
SOURCE White Mountain Titanium Corporation
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