Mt Grace in magnesium metal push

Mt Grace Resources NL has signed a licensing agreement with Magnesium Developments International to licence the Heggie metallothermic technology for the production of magnesium metal from calcined magnesia.

Mt Grace executive chairman Ron Stanley said the company’s goal to have orders of 50,000 tonnes per annum is progressing rapidly with negotiations under way with interested parties.

In the March 1999 quarterly report Mt Grace announced a floatation test conducted by Oretest Pty Ltd on material representative of the Winchester prospect which gave excellent results.

It produced a concentrate containing 46.7 per cent magnesium which represents 98 per cent pure magnesite at the Batchelor magnesium project, located 85 kilometres south of Darwin.

The Winchester resource will provide feedstock for the production of magnesia and hence magnesium metal using the Heggie process with an expected mine life in excess of thirty years.