Scandium International Mining Corp. is pleased to announce that Scandium International's wholly-owned subsidiary, EMC Metals Australia Pty Ltd ("EMC") has initiated an update of the Definitive Feasibility Study ("DFS") titled "Feasibility Study - Nyngan Scandium Project", dated May 4, 2016, at its Nyngan Scandium Project in New South Wales. The DFS update will be undertaken by Lycopodium Limited, headquartered in Perth, Australia, who completed the original DFS in 2016 and will reflect capital and operational efficiencies as well as potential to high-grade and customer requirements.
"We are very pleased to have initiated an update of the Definitive Feasibility Study for the Nyngan Scandium Project after the announcement of the grant of the Mining License in October 2025," said Peter Evensen, Chief Executive Officer. "We look forward to working with Lycopodium as we continue to develop the Nyngan Scandium project. The company is fully funded to complete the DFS update, marking an important milestone on the path toward construction and eventual production, consistent with the Project's design parameters."
The update of the DFS will update the capital and operating costs and will not change the basic parameters of the existing DFS, which remain positive:
- is designed as a small surface mining operation recovering approximately 75,000 t of limonite ore from the resource per year.
- delivers an average limonite scandium head grade to the mill facility over 20 years is 409 ppm (before potential high-grading initiatives).
- includes a project development and commissioning schedule comprising a one- year construction period, and a total 24-month ramp-up period to reach nameplate capacity of 75,000 tons per year ore throughput and approximately 38,500 kg of scandium oxide product per year, grading 98 to 99.9% SC2O3.
- provides a 20-year mine life at nameplate capacity, using less than 20% of the total Mineral Resource Estimate.
Mr. Evensen continued: "The benefits of scandium have been known for several years; however, until now there has not been a reliable and abundant potential supply source of scandium outside of China and Russia or dependent on other commodity prices as a by-product.
The Western world has made it a strategic priority to develop robust critical mineral supply chains that are not dependent on a single nation as a pinch point.
The shovel-ready Nyngan Scandium Project is prepared to meet western demand for scandium in existing applications and emerging uses under development including semiconductors, solid-state batteries, and defense applications."
The information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by John Thompson, BE, FAusIMM, Vice-President of Project Development, who is a Qualified Person as that term is defined in National Instrument 43-101.