Pulling critical minerals from the ores that hold them in just a flash? The technology is not here yet, but MTM Critical Metals thinks it might not be too far away.

The flash Joule heating technology it has received a licence for from Rice University in Houston, Texas, promises to do just that but will need a fair bit of development.

FJH involves applying a short, intense burst of electrical current to a sample medium such as a piece of ore. The resistance in the ore turns that electrical energy into heat. Temperatures of 3000C are not out of the question. 

The intense temperature FJH can develop can help change the phase of the metal in the ore and make it more amenable to acid leach recovery.

The FJH technology was developed by Dr James Tour and his team at Rice University.

At the end of May MTM Critical Metals secured the exclusive global rights for the FJH technology for use in the recovery of rare earths elements, critical minerals and metallic compounds from ores, e-waste, batteries, and a broad range of high intrinsic value raw materials. Coal fly ash is a key target for the technology.

MTM Critical Metals chief executive officer Lachlan Reynolds is bullish about the technology's potential but is also quick to admit there are a lot of details to nail down.

The company is working with specialty Houston-based high technology engineering firm KnightHawk Engineering to develop a semi-commercial scale demonstration plant.

KnightHawk has worked with the likes of NASA, BASF and Exxon Mobil.

It is hoped this plant will help nail down some of those details, such as how energy-efficient the technology really is.

Murdoch MoU

MTM has also struck a memorandum of understanding with Murdoch University in Western Australia to investigate research opportunities for the technology.

Reynolds told MNN sister publication Australia's Mining Monthly that working with Murdoch brought a couple of benefits.

One is the university's strong extractive metallurgy background. It was home to the AJ Parker Cooperative Research Centre for Hydrometallurgy from 1992 to 2005. The other is its connections to the WA mining sector.

"We are, in essence, trying to kill a few birds with the one stone," Reynolds said.

"We're opening up opportunities for FJH test work and hopefully will be able to kick off collaborations with miners."

That Murdoch MoU could lead to another FJH test facility being set up in Perth. 

At the moment, the only test facility MTM has access to is in Houston.

Preliminary promise

MTM has already been able to show that FJH significantly increased the acid leachability of rare earth elements and target critical minerals from coal fly ash samples.

Preliminary results from the coal fly ash samples treated by the FJH prototype showed a 50% increase in the recovery of rare earth elements. More importantly, there was a 72% increase for neodymium when compared to control samples.

Several other critical metals showed enhanced leach recoveries, including a 73% increase for cobalt, a 50% increase for lithium, a 99% improvement for nickel, a 113% increase for rubidium, a 103% hike for scandium and a 514% increase for titanium. When the test results were announced last month, the rubidium price was $108,000 per kilogram and neodymium was selling for US$68,000/kg.

MTM is also keen to test the technology on samples from its own rare earths ground. One of MTM's deposits in Quebec, Canada, has carbonatite-hosted neodymium that Reynolds is keen to try FJH on.

"We've done some work to get a concentrate from that material," Reynolds said.

"We're looking to see if FJH can help with treatment of material in carbonatite form."

Serendipity

MTM is an Australian Securities Exchange-listed explorer that, Reynolds said, discovered the FJH technology serendipitously.

"Somewhat out of left-field, the FJH technology came to our attention," he said.

"We saw it as highly complementary to what we're doing in the exploration space."

Reynolds said one benefit of MTM's FJH journey was that it was not heading down the path alone.

A Canadian company, Universal Matter, is using FJH to produce graphene.

FJH technology developer Tour is one of Universal Matter's founders.

Universal Matter FJH approach aims to produce graphene in commercial quantities from discarded plastics and biomass, among other things.

That approach moves FJH into "Mr Fusion" territory.

Critical hopes

Reynolds said there was potential for the technology to be applied to extracting lithium from spodumene.

The existing process is a very energy and reagent intensive one that at one stage involves calcining and roasting the spodumene.

"Flash Joule heating could replace those techniques, or it could be used as an adjunct," Reynolds said.

"We have some ambition to look at an application of the technology to recover metals from material that would otherwise be rejected."

One example is slimes. Another is the red mud from aluminium processing.

Then there is the eWaste and spent batteries to ply.

Here Reynolds is taking a leaf from Neometals CEO Chris Reed who told an AusIMM function in 2022 that battery recycling would be a major source of lithium by 2040 and could have carbon emissions benefits too.

"As soon as I shred the battery and dissolve it in acid, I absolve it of all its carbon sins," Reed said.

Technology trials

Reynolds said while getting the licence for the technology was a key milestone, the main milestone would be "to get it to a semi-automated level at a semi-commercial scale".

He admits there is a lot of work to be done before the technology reaches that stage.

""There will be a lot of engineering development required to achieve that kind of automation," Reynolds said.

A lot of it revolves around material handling. Making sure the reactor produces a repeatable flash is another issue to handle. 

"A lot of our test work is built around how we choose material for the process," Reynolds said.

"What happens to the residues once they've been flashed?"

Reynolds said MTM hoped to have the engineering work completed by the end of the year.

"We're keen to get to the point where we can show third parties that we have a technology with promise for their industry but also that it works in a semi-commercial way."

On the scale up front, Reynolds said one quick way to scale up the technology might be to use multiple FJH reactors in parallel.

Safety first

Another thing MTM needs to demonstrate is that the process can be conducted safely at scale.

After all, it uses lots of electric current and generates high temperatures.

There are also some off-gassing concerns.

"All these things are being thought about as we go through the process," Reynolds said.

"It is a vital part of the test work."

While the focus is on getting a semi-commercial demonstration plant up and running, Reynolds said he realised the technology would likely have to be customised to each customer's needs.

Reynolds said it made sense to be progressing the technology in the US. 

Capital is much more available there. So too is feedstock, particularly in terms of e-waste and spent batteries.

There are hopes of tapping into the billions of dollars the US has made available through the Inflation Reduction Act as well.

However, Reynolds believes that, given the opportunities to apply the technology to its own projects, Australian research and development tax credits could also be available.