Rio Tinto is investing C$7.6 million in an industrial demonstration project to assess the integration of technology that will allow the sorting of ore directly at the source based on titanium and scandium content at its Lac Tio mine located near Havre-Saint-Pierre, Canada.
The miner said by separating commercially exploitable rock from waste rock more efficiently, the method could reduce the amount of material transported between the mine and the Metallurgical and Critical Minerals Complex in Sorel-Tracy, an 800-kilometer trip by boat.
“The use of ore sorting technology represents a tangible opportunity to optimize our processes right from the extraction stage, allowing us to maximize value from our resources, while reducing the emissions associated with transporting and processing ore,” explained Rio Tinto Iron and Titanium and Diamonds Managing Director Sophie Bergeron.
The Government of Quebec will contribute C$2.5 million to the project through its Support Program for the Scale-up of Mineral Processing or Primary Transformation for Critical and Strategic Minerals, administered by the Quebec Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests.
The demonstration project will be deployed in two phases. In 2025, the activities will focus on engineering, the commissioning of the ore sorting circuit and technological validation. In 2026, additional equipment will be integrated to automate the process and produce multiple batches of enriched ore.
Source: Rio Tinto