Imperial Mining Ramps up Scandium Strategic Marketing Activities at the European Union and in Germany
MONTREAL, Nov. 13, 2018 - Imperial Mining Group Ltd. ("Imperial" or the “Corporation”) (TSX VENTURE: IPG) is pleased to provide an update on its numerous strategic scandium marketing initiatives for the Crater Lake Project, in Québec. This month Imperial will be participating in two major European conferences where it will be presenting the Crater Lake scandium opportunity to industrial users concerned about security of supply in the face of rapidly growing demand.
Imperial has been active in attracting strategic partnerships in order to advance the development of the Crater Lake scandium project since the beginning of the year. With the support of Nick Parry, Imperial’s Strategic Advisor on scandium market development, the Corporation has secured several important introductions to consumers and manufacturers of products and alloy materials that utilize scandium. Scandium has been variously referred to as the “Miracle Metal” and a “Spice Metal” because, when alloyed with aluminium in small quantities (0.2% to 0.4%), it produces strong, flexible and weldable lightweight materials critical for next-generation airplanes and automobiles, in particular Electric Vehicles (EVs).
“Even at this early stage in the development of the Crater Lake Project, it is important to begin identifying scandium market opportunities and establishing partnerships with customers interested in securing future supplies and supporting project development,” said Peter Cashin, Imperial President & CEO. “With the drive towards lightweighting in these important manufacturing sectors, scandium demand is expected to grow rapidly because of its ability to greatly strengthen aluminium alloys, rendering them corrosion resistant and significantly improving the alloy’s mechanical properties. Imperial fully intends to be a critical supply-chain contributor to the expanding scandium market.”
To introduce the Crater Lake scandium opportunity to new European audiences, Imperial will participate in the European Union’s Raw Materials Symposium in Brussels, Belgium, November 12-16. Organized by the European Commission, the event provides an opportunity for market participants to discuss and exchange views on all relevant critical materials supply chain issues. Subjects from mineral policy, technology and international cooperation on policy framework matters will be reviewed. The event will conclude with Imperial’s participation as a Canadian representative at an invitation-only Stakeholders Raw Materials Dialogue meeting in the context of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada and the European Union. Topics on policy, material sourcing, technology development and mutual R&D initiatives in the Canada-EU context will be discussed. With concerns being expressed by the EU on the reliability of scandium supply from China and Russia, involvement in these discussions will provide Imperial with an opportunity to highlight the Crater Lake development as a long-term, sustainable scandium supply solution for European industry.
The EU Raw Materials event will be followed on November 26-27 by the Scandium Aluminium Europe (SCALE) symposium in Berlin, Germany where Imperial’s President & CEO, Peter Cashin, will present on the Crater Lake scandium project. SCALE, an EU Horizon 2020 initiative, has a mandate to identify and secure a long-term, sustainable supply of scandium for the EU aerospace, automotive and high-tech industries. SCALE’s focus is on scandium sources related to reprocessing bauxite residues and titanium waste streams and the development of efficient extraction, separation, refining and alloying techniques. It is management’s view that Imperial’s Crater Lake Project represents a far more sustainable long-term scandium supply source than reprocessing of titanium waste streams or bauxite red muds, currently the EU’s only available source of this critical aluminium alloy agent. In parallel with this event, Imperial management will be meeting with UK and EU industry and academic leaders to provide awareness of the Crater Lake project and to develop sector-focused materials R&D initiatives.
In addition to its strategic marketing initiatives, Imperial plans to drill the area of the recently discovered high grade scandium mineralization in early 2019 to establish an initial resource estimate, while continuing to define an efficient process flowsheet for recovering the scandium into a form suitable for aluminium alloy manufacturers. For more news and information on the Scandium markets access Imperial’s Tech Metal Markets portal at https://www.imperialmgp.com/tech-metal-markets/ or visit our Twitter portal for scandium updates at: @imperial_mining .
ABOUT IMPERIAL MINING GROUP LTD.
Imperial is a new Canadian mineral exploration and development company focused on advancing its copper-zinc, gold and technology metals properties in Québec. Imperial is publicly listed on the TSX Venture Exchange as “IPG” and is led by an experienced team of mineral exploration and development professionals with a strong track record of mineral deposit discovery in numerous metal commodities.
For further information please contact:
Peter J. Cashin
President and Chief Executive Officer
Tel: +1 (514) 360-0571
Email: info@imperialmgp.com
URL: www.imperialmgp.com
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