Minerals Disrupted

 "The man with a new idea is a crank

- until the idea succeeds." 

Mark Twain

There is nothing new about ionic liquids.  Salts that become liquid at low temperatures were first identified by scientists in the late 1800s.  It was not until the 1970s that someone thought to try ionic liquids as electrolytes in batteries.  Now chemists are hailing these melted salts as ‘solvents of the future.’  Apparently, ionic liquids have some attractive characteristics that make them appealing in industrial situations.  They are poor conductors of electricity, have low combustibility and are thermally stable.    

Privately-held Argo Natural Resources Ltd. is on a mission to commercialize ionic liquids for processing metals and for batteries.  Based in London and doing business as Argo Applied Technologies, the company has licensed technology developed at the University of Leicester to produce and apply a type of ionic salts they call ‘Deep Eutectic Solvents’ or DES for short. 

Argo’s team of scientists and engineers think DES will be effective for minerals processing.  DES is able to dissolve metals in higher quantities and lower cost than water-based systems.  Additionally, using non-toxic, biodegradable salts such as choline chloride is more environmentally-friendly than current practices that rely on toxic materials such as cyanide, mercury or hydrochloric acid.  Many classes of chemical reactions can be performed using ionic liquids as solvents.

Gold is the first mineral targeted by Argo.  Certainly, gold is appealing given ample selling prices for purified gold ore and the ubiquitous nature of gold deposits around the world.  Gold is also often a by-product of other mining operations.  Unfortunately, only a small portion of such by-products are successfully recovered and sent to market.  Using DES for the beneficiation step more of the valuable metals in ore concentrate can be recovered, increasing returns for minerals producers.  The DES beneficiation process could be as much as 80 times faster than conventional cyanide processing.

Gold is not the limit.  The company has identified at least another 18 minerals and elements that could be extracted using Argo’s DES technology.  Some can be dissolved with a simple oxidizing agent such as iodine. 

Argo has some work ahead to get to commercial stage.  A batch production plant is planned that can improve upon experience gained in pilot projects with customers.  A continuous processing plant would be constructed later when there is enough work to justify larger volumes.

The development agenda will require financing.  Argo Applied Technologies is raising 2.0 million pounds through a stock sale on the crowd funding site, CrowdCube.  The opportunity could be of interest to investors with a high tolerance for risk and patience for a slow-play development cycle.  Due diligence on Argo is not made easy by a corporate website that requires a user name and password. Persistent 'clicking' is needed to navigate the site.  Additionally, there is considerable scientific discussion of ionic salts and possible uses that is to be found through searches of 'ionic liquids'.

Ionic liquids are getting attention at a time when industrial materials suppliers are receiving orders with more and more exacting performance requirements.  At the same time processing costs are spiraling higher.  In particular energy and water prices have pressured the profit margins of metals miners and processors alike.  Ionic liquids are not new to the scene, but the technology may be poised to disrupt the minerals markets at the right time and with the right solutions.

Neither the author of the Small Cap Strategist web log, Crystal Equity Research nor its affiliates have a beneficial interest in the companies mentioned herein.