Thanks Boilermaker.
I may have used the word "tailings" incorrectly. Boilermaker is correct, IMO, most of what is referred to as tailings are usually worthless material and will be recycled as backfill in the mine. From a cost standpoint the process should be designed for the first steps to separate the useless materials from the ore that contains the Nb, Ti, and REEs&Sc containing minerals. The useless stuff are generally referred to as tailings and are discarded in some manner. Niocorp is going to recycle them.
The streams of material that then get processed through the Nb and Ti circuits will be rejecting material, probably a leachate, which will be rich in REEs and the Sc. The Sc will be extracted and the remaining material will be rich in REEs whose cost to generate has already been absorbed by the Nb, Ti, and Sc that we sell.
I believe this REE rich material will be very valuable to someone and it certainly is very valuable to our national security to have a material that is very highly concentrated in REEs available domestically at a low cost. Jim, Mark and the crew have lots of background in REE material and I am sure it will be put to good use and be a financial benefit to Niocorp.
My memory of my Mineral Dressing courses and early career experiences go back a half a century, but I think I have the concept right. Any more technical discussion of this will require me to read, study, analyze, and understand the FS which I do not plan to do.
