GMR rolls-out Bauxite residue treatment demonstration unit at Rio Tinto’s Vaudreuil Alumina refinery site

On 20^th January 2021, the Global Mineral Recovery Company (GMR) publicised this morning the commissioning of its commercial demonstration unit for the recovery of bauxite residues on the site of Rio Tinto’s Vaudreuil Alumina plant. The $ 9 million project was initiated in 2017.

The US-based technology-focused company, GMR, has established a division in Montreal since 2018 and it has designed a pyrometallurgical technology to treat and recover the bauxite residues from the production of alumina. This process transforms and extracts specific compounds from the residue, making it useful in certain building material applications.

GMR will also transform and market the substantial portion of the “red” iron oxide mined from the bauxite residue. Ultimately, GMR intends to succeed in extracting several metal oxides that can be used in many industrial applications. The objective of the project is to set up the first and only factory of its kind on an industrial scale to process this material in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean and then across Canada. On an industrial scale, this process will help reduce the accumulation of bauxite residues on the Usine Vaudreuil site and could create around 100 jobs in the region.

André Pedneault, General Manager and Project Manager at the Usine Vaudreuil de Rio Tinto site for GMR Quebec, said: “The implementation of our project will demonstrate the quality and potential of the technology developed by GMR Quebec. This will also strengthen our outreach to all the partners and suppliers who have worked around the project since its inception.”

Sébastien Ross, Executive Director, Quebec Operations, for Rio Tinto, stated: “For Rio Tinto, the project allows, in particular, reducing the environmental footprint and encourages the circular economy. Rio Tinto is a leader in full value-added mining. This approach maximizes the use of all the minerals that are extracted from the soil. It reduces mine tailings, provides materials for new technologies and helps secure supply chains in North America. The recovery of bauxite residues is important for Rio Tinto and we are pleased to welcome this GMR demonstration plant to support the continued development of this technology with the support of the Government of Quebec as part of its strategy.”

The Quebec government, through the Economic Development Fund, for which Investissement Quebec is the agent, announced on 20^th January’2021 that it had granted a $ 2 million loan to GMR to support the development phases of this project, which should generate interesting economic spinoffs in Quebec.

Pierre Fitzgibbon, Minister of Economy and Innovation, said: “Our government reaffirms its desire to combine economic development and environmental protection for a green and prosperous economy. The GMR project will be promising for our aluminium sector and will contribute to the revival of the Saguenay – Lac-Saint-Jean economy by creating sustainable and paying jobs.”