Rio Tinto and Innord Inc. come together for developing bauxite residues iron phase product

Rio Tinto Plc has agreed to enter into a development agreement for bauxite residues iron phase product with Innord Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Geomega Resources Inc. As part of the agreement, Rio Tinto will pay Innord US$1 million to complete the requisite proof of concept work and the following small scale locked cycle pilot plant at its Boucherville, Quebec facilities as part of the deal.

Rio Tinto and Innord have agreed to evaluate various opportunities to monetize the iron compounds produced by Innord's Bauxite Residues Technology (IBRT). A US$4 million pilot plant and feasibility study of a sustainable and complete valorization of bauxite residues were also announced.  As part of the project, Innord has agreed to develop and test an extension technology to IBRT over the next 12 months to manufacture the necessary product, which will then be reviewed by Rio Tinto.

Rio Tinto's stated $1 million in new capital is non-dilutive to Geomega and Innord. The project will get underway right away, with the official development deal likely to be signed later in 2022. Bauxite residue is a by-product produced during the Bayer process, which is used to refine alumina. Innord's BR valorization technology is based on procedures that were initially developed for rare earth (REE) magnet recycling and REE extraction from Montviel ore. The system allows for significant waste volume reduction, recovery of important metal concentrates and reduction of effluents recycling primary reagents.

“We are excited to further extend our cooperation with Rio Tinto on bauxite residues. Iron is the largest component of bauxite residues, and we believe that this stream holds the keys to a successful implementation of Innord’s complete and sustainable valorization of said residues. This project will evaluate the added value transformation of the iron compound produced using IBRT, creating potentially new and more profitable markets for this product. A successful project has the potential to increase the commercial viability of IBRT and contribute to its expedited commercialization,” said Kiril Mugerman, President and CEO of Geomega and Innord.

Rio Tinto, which is completely supporting the project, will control the intellectual property generated as a result of the project extension. Upon commercialization of the technology and the manufacturing of commercial products, Innord will receive a royalty payment for the underlying base technology (IBRT). The terms of the deal between Geomega and Rio Tinto, including the royalty rate, will be kept under wraps.