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Sunrise Energy Metals (ASX:SRL) announced Thursday it is accelerating studies to assess an expansion of production capacity at its 100%-owned Syerston project in New South Wales.
The Australian scandium miner backed by Robert Friedland said the Syerston project “will be the world’s first source of primary mine supply for scandium end-users”.
In March, Sunrise completed a feasibility study, confirming a capital cost of $120 million and an average life-of-mine direct, site-level cash operating costs of $534 per kilogram of scandium oxide (Sc2O3).
Over an estimated 32-year operating life, the company said at the time, it could produce 60 tonnes of high-purity Sc2O3 on an annual basis. This would position the company to capture significant market share in a rapidly growing global market that is currently estimated at about 50-60 tonnes per year, Sunrise said.
Scandium is a critical mineral vital to aerospace, defense, and green energy technologies.
Global supply is concentrated almost exclusively in China, where scandium is recovered from the processing of titanium dioxide pigment waste and nickel-cobalt waste residues. The waste sources typically contain very low grades of scandium and, in some cases, radioactive elements that require careful management, the company said.
High-concentration economic deposits are scarce, and global supply is bottlenecked because it is mostly produced as a minor byproduct from other mining operations, including Rio Tinto’s Sorel-Tracy, Québec facility.
The company said Thursday it is accelerating its work on studies to assess an additional 120tpa scandium oxide production train, increasing Syerston’s total production capacity to 180tpa.
“Our Syerston scandium deposit is large, high-grade and exceptionally well located,” Chairman Robert Friedland said in a news release.
“The expansion study will define the most capital-efficient pathway to lift production capacity to 180 tonnes per annum. These expansion plans are an insurance policy for western industry – one that delivers a new, reliable and scalable source of supply in a geopolitical landscape that is becoming increasingly contested,” Friedland said.
The expansion study leverages the engineering, process design and cost information generated through the ongoing Front-End Engineering and Design (FEED) Study for the initial 60tpa development.
The expansion study is assessing the optimal pathway to higher production, including the relative capital efficiency, plant configuration, operating cost profile and execution requirements of a staged expansion.
Deliverables include a mine plan supporting production of up to 180tpa, a Class 5 capital cost estimate, an assessment of operating costs, site layouts, and a high-level execution schedule.
FEED for the initial 60tpa development continues to advance well, with commercial production targeted in 2028, the company said.
