Doubleview's Hat met test shows scandium in tailings

Executive Summary

• Doubleview Gold Corp. announced positive first-phase pre-optimization results from a two-year scandium-focused metallurgical test program, confirming the technical viability of recovering high-purity scandium oxide (Sc2O3) from copper porphyry flotation tailings at its Hat polymetallic deposit.
• The results demonstrate a global first: successful recovery of scandium from copper porphyry tailings to a scandium oxide product, with an overall scandium recovery rate of 88% to high-purity Sc2O3.
• The company plans to include scandium in its upcoming updated mineral resource estimate and preliminary economic assessment, following a maiden resource estimate from July 25, 2024, which highlighted a conceptual scandium potential of 300-500 million tonnes grading approximately 40 ppm Sc2O3.

Key Details

• Metallurgical Results:
  • Primary scandium extraction (leach): 82 percent.
  • Overall scandium recovery to high-purity Sc2O3 product: 88 percent.
• Project Context:
  • The test program was conducted at SGS Canada Inc.
  • The objective is to establish a proprietary flow sheet to include scandium in the updated mineral resource estimate (measured, indicated, or inferred).
  • The Hat project is a 100-percent-owned flagship polymetallic deposit in Northern British Columbia.
• Resource Potential:
  • Maiden resource estimate (July 25, 2024) indicated a scandium potential of 300 million to 500 million tonnes grading approximately 40 parts per million Sc2O3.
  • This potential is based on drill holes drilled for the July 25, 2024, maiden resource estimate for other metals; the quantity and grade are conceptual, and insufficient exploration has defined a mineral resource.
• Technical Process:
  • Scandium is recovered directly from the tailings of a standard copper flotation circuit.
  • The process uses acid produced from internally generated pyrite.
• Future Work:
  • Focus will shift to continuous pilot plant testing and further optimization to improve primary extraction and enhance final product purity.
• Strategic Significance:
  • CEO Farshad Shirvani described the results as a "game-changer," noting that scandium could become a high-margin bonus to a potential world-class copper-gold-cobalt operation.
  • Scandium is identified as a high-value critical mineral with prices often exceeding $5,000 per kilogram, used in aerospace, defense, and clean energy sectors.

Notable Quotes

• "The scandium resource potential is based on the drill holes on the property drilled for July 25, 2024, maiden resource estimate for other metal content than scandium. The potential quantity and grade are conceptual in nature, there has been insufficient exploration to define a mineral resource, and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the target being delineated as a mineral resource."
• "Today's results are a game-changer for the Hat project and potentially for the entire scandium industry on the world stage... If the Hat project advances to production, scandium could become a high-margin bonus on top of a potential world-class copper-gold-cobalt operation."
• "Now that we've established the technical viability of scandium recovery, the next steps will focus on pushing extraction and overall recovery as high as possible through continued optimization and pilot-scale testing."