In an insightful interview with InvestorNews host Tracy Weslosky, Guy Bourassa, CEO and Director of Scandium Canada Ltd. (TSXV: SCD | OTCQB: SCDCF), highlighted their unique position in the global scandium market as the owner of “…one of the largest primary scandium projects in the world”. Bourassa emphasized that this distinction is particularly significant given the current scarcity of scandium, which is primarily sourced as a byproduct from regions such as Russia and China. The scarcity of scandium underscores the strategic importance of Scandium Canada’s Crater Lake Project, as industries worldwide are increasingly in need of reliable and scalable sources of scandium to meet the growing demand for this high-performance metal.

Bourassa discussed how scandium offers remarkable benefits when added to aluminum alloys, significantly enhancing their properties. These enhanced scandium-aluminium alloys exhibit increased strength, improved thermal resistance, and greater weldability compared to their standard aluminum counterparts. This combination of traits makes scandium-alloyed materials highly sought after, especially in sectors where material performance and weight reduction are critical, such as aerospace, automotive, and defense industries. Bourassa explained that incorporating scandium leads to significant weight reduction, facilitating more efficient aircraft and vehicles which, in turn, contributes to a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

Bourassa drew an intriguing parallel to the history of niobium, an element that revolutionized the steel industry by enhancing steel’s properties when alloyed. He added, “Scandium Canada is going to do the same thing for the aluminum sector.” Furthermore, the strategic initiatives undertaken by Scandium Canada, including leveraging significant grants and government programs available for critical mineral projects in Canada, position the company advantageously for rapid project advancement with minimal shareholder dilution. This financial acumen, coupled with the project’s significance in providing a primary source of scandium, places Scandium Canada in a strong competitive position.

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About Scandium Canada Ltd.

Scandium Canada is a Canadian technology metals company focused on advancing its flagship Crater Lake scandium and rare earth project in Québec.

To learn more about Scandium Canada Ltd., click here

Disclaimer: Scandium Canada Ltd. is an advertorial member of InvestorNews Inc.

This interview, which was produced by InvestorNews Inc. (“InvestorNews”), does not contain, nor does it purport to contain, a summary of all material information concerning the Company, including important disclosure and risk factors associated with the Company, its business and an investment in its securities. InvestorNews offers no representations or warranties that any of the information contained in this interview is accurate or complete.

This interview and any transcriptions or reproductions thereof (collectively, this “presentation”) does not constitute, or form part of, any offer or invitation to sell or issue, or any solicitation of any offer to subscribe for or purchase any securities in the Company. The information in this presentation is provided for informational purposes only and may be subject to updating, completion or revision, and except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any information herein. This presentation may contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and assumptions of the management of the Company as of the date made. They are inherently susceptible to uncertainty and other factors that could cause actual events/results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements. Additional risks and uncertainties, including those that the Company does not know about now or that it currently deems immaterial, may also adversely affect the Company’s business or any investment therein.

Any projections given are principally intended for use as objectives and are not intended, and should not be taken, as assurances that the projected results will be obtained by the Company. The assumptions used may not prove to be accurate and a potential decline in the Company’s financial condition or results of operations may negatively impact the value of its securities. This presentation should not be considered as the giving of investment advice by the Company or any of its directors, officers, agents, employees or advisors. Each person to whom this presentation is made available must make its own independent assessment of the Company after making such investigations and taking such advice as may be deemed necessary. Prospective investors are urged to review the Company’s profile on SedarPlus.ca and to carry out independent investigations in order to determine their interest in investing in the Company.

Chris Thompson interviews Imperial Mining Group Ltd.‘s (TSXV: IPG | OTCQB: IMPNF) CEO and President Peter Cashin about an update on their Crater Lake Project in Quebec. Speaking about their newly discovered high-grade scandium zone, Peter explains how the discovery will positively impact the economics of the Crater Lake Project.

Peter goes on to provide an update on their collaboration agreement with Développement Economique Sept-îles Inc to establish Imperial Mining’s scandium, rare earths and scandium-aluminum master alloys facility within the boundaries of the City of Sept-Iles. Recognized as a critical mineral in the US, Canada, Australia, and EU, Peter discusses how adding very small quantities of scandium to aluminum increases strength by up to 800%. Peter also provides an update on Imperial Mining’s recently closed private placement which added new high net worth international investors as shareholders.

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About Imperial Mining Group Ltd.

Imperial is a Canadian mineral exploration and development company focused on the advancement of its technology metals projects in Québec. Imperial is publicly listed on the TSX Venture Exchange as “IPG” and on the OTCQB Exchange as “IMPNF” and is led by an experienced team of mineral exploration and development professionals with a strong track record of mineral deposit discovery in numerous metal commodities.

To learn more about Imperial Mining Group Ltd., click here

Disclaimer: Imperial Mining Group Ltd. is an advertorial member of InvestorIntel Corp.

This interview, which was produced by InvestorIntel Corp., (IIC), does not contain, nor does it purport to contain, a summary of all the material information concerning the “Company” being interviewed. IIC offers no representations or warranties that any of the information contained in this interview is accurate or complete.

This presentation may contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and assumptions of the management of the Company as of the date made. They are inherently susceptible to uncertainty and other factors that could cause actual events/results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements. Additional risks and uncertainties, including those that the Company does not know about now or that it currently deems immaterial, may also adversely affect the Company’s business or any investment therein.

Any projections given are principally intended for use as objectives and are not intended, and should not be taken, as assurances that the projected results will be obtained by the Company. The assumptions used may not prove to be accurate and a potential decline in the Company’s financial condition or results of operations may negatively impact the value of its securities. Prospective investors are urged to review the Company’s profile on Sedar.com and to carry out independent investigations in order to determine their interest in investing in the Company.

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Last week Imperial Mining Group Ltd. (TSXV: IPG | OTCQB: IMPNF) released the results of a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA). The results are impressive with a projected 25-year mine life for its Crater Lake TG Zone Scandium-Rare Earth Element (Sc-REE) deposit 200 km NE of Schefferville, Quebec. Of particular note is Imperial Mining’s CEO Peter Cashin, who has been in mining for decades and has been involved in rare earths and scandium for over a decade which puts him in a strong position to understand the idiosyncrasies of these critical materials.

Scandium is an element that has huge potential in automotive, aerospace, military, and applications where weight is critical without sacrificing other properties. Scandium has the ability, when added in < 1% levels to aluminum, to produce a metal that is one-third the weight of steel but has the strength of steel. The main scandium production is in China and Russia, and major companies are looking for a reliable, long-term supply from a favorable jurisdiction before committing to a design using scandium-aluminum alloy. Scandium can be welded which is of interest to aircraft companies as it has been said that eliminating the rivets which is the current practice would reduce the weight of a plane by as much as 20%. The challenge is designing a new airframe can take up to a decade. Therefore other applications are needed near term to generate cash flow in the early stages of a project. A new car can take 2-3 years to produce from scratch but with the drive to EV vehicles where weight is a major consideration, this is a key area for product development.  Being in Quebec, Imperial is well situated to work with the aluminum smelters in the province.

According to Imperial Mining’s PEA, gross revenues projected are CA$15.2 billion with gross earnings about 50% at CA$6.25 billion. The NPV is just under CA$3 billion at a 10% discount rate and an IRR (after-tax) of 32.8%. The initial CAPEX is projected at CA$870.9 million with a payback of 2.5 years. Impressive numbers.

Regarding the scandium itself, the drill results have shown grades that rate among the highest globally, if not the highest.  The mine is an open-pit design, which will minimize costs, and the concentration phase would be done on-site with final processing being planned to take place in Sept-Iles. The strategy is to produce a master Sc-Al alloy in Sept-Iles along with a REE concentrate. The other notable calculation is Imperial Mining uses US$1,500/kg for Sc2O3 which is significantly lower than other PEAs for scandium in the marketplace. In addition, the Sc(2%)-Al alloy is discounted by 40% from the US Geological Survey 5-year trailing average, which is another conservative approach and refreshing to see instead of reporting extreme numbers which would be difficult to defend.

As noted earlier, Imperial Mining plans to produce a rare earth concentrate. This is priced at a 70% discount to market prices in March 2022, which is realistic as the main target customer would be China, which is currently buying concentrate from MP Materials out of California. This discount is in keeping with how the Chinese would calculate the value, and even then the lanthanum would not be a significant contributor. The other key point of this revenue calculation was that it is based only on the 4 key magnetic elements plus lanthanum, which is realistic as the magnetic elements are where the main value is in all REE deposits globally. It is nice to see a company not running economics on separated REEs and saying it can sell everything it produces, which is not possible. This concentrate would help defray the scandium OPEX to a certain degree.

Overall, scandium is a situation of build it and they will come. The full report should be available by end of July.

Imperial Mining Group Ltd. (TSXV: IPG | OTCQB: IMPNF) (“Imperial”) is due to shortly release a 43-101 preliminary Resource Estimate for their 100% owned Crater Lake Scandium-Rare Earth Project in northeastern Quebec, Canada. What can investors expect?

The Crater Lake Project consists of 57 contiguous claims covering 27.8km². The Project has ~14 km of potential mineralized horizon (only 1/4 drill tested) spread over several zones, some of which have drill tested high-grade scandium and some rare earths deposits, including and yttrium. There is also potential for niobium and tantalum.

Imperial Mining’s Crater Lake location showing excellent infrastructure nearby

Drilling has defined several mineralized zones of over 600m in total strike length and from surface to a vertical depth of up to 200m.

Source: Company presentation

Excellent drill results at Crater Lake continue in 2021

Past drilling has shown some excellent long length, high-grade, scandium oxide results ranging from 0.0235% to 0.056% (235-506 g/t).

For example, in April 2021 the Company announced excellent drill results at Crater Lake that included 92.5 m @ 291g/t scandium oxide (Sc₂O₃). Elevated levels of total rare earth oxides plus yttrium of up to 0.42% were also found. There is also a parallel niobium target showing grab assay results of between 0.20% and 1.42% Nb2O5 which sits 250m west of the scandium target.

Then in May 2021, Imperial announced:

• “Assay results from the first four drill hole continue to return impressive intercepts of 111.9 m (367.0’) grading 298 g/t scandium oxide (Sc₂O₃), including 40.5 m (132.8’) grading 336 g/t Sc₂O₃and 34.77 m (114.0′) grading 321 g/t Sc₂O₃.
• Elevated levels of total rare earth oxides plus yttrium (TREO+Y) of up to 0.38 %.”

More recent drill results announced in June 2021 included:

• “99.8 m (327.3’) grading 299 g/t scandium oxide (Sc₂O₃), including 24.2 m (79.4’) grading 331 g/t Sc₂O₃ and 77.3 m (253.5′) grading 313 g/t Sc₂O₃.
• Elevated levels of total rare earth oxides plus yttrium (TREO+Y) of up to 0.46% characterize the scandium-bearing intercepts.”

Crater Lakes’ critical minerals mean a 10MT resource can potentially be very valuable

Imperial’s ‘target’ at Crater Lake is to define a scandium-REE mineral resource of a minimum of 10 Mt, sufficient for a 25-year operating model. What some investors miss is that a small relatively shallow resource-rich in valuable metals such as scandium, niobium, and rare earths can be highly valuable. The chart below highlights this by expressing the results as 6.5 to 12.0 g/t ‘gold equivalent’. If Imperial Mining was able to achieve 10MT of ore at say 6.5 g/t Au equivalent (lower range) that would be equivalent to 65 million grams (2.1 million troy ounces) of gold in terms of value. If the grade was in the higher range then the gold equivalent would be almost double. Of course, the 10MT is a ‘target” and not yet a reality, as we will have to wait to see what the upcoming resource estimate is.

The Crater Lake TG Zone drill results are equivalent to 6.5 to 12.0 g/t gold equivalent

Source: Company presentation

Once a resource is grown the other important issue is the extraction method and recovery rates. In June 2021 news Imperial announced that they had developed a “high-recovery extraction process for scandium and rare earth elements for Crater Lake mineralization…..as part of its current Phase 3 Hydrometallurgical Development Program.” Scandium extraction was at 84-87%, and total rare earth elements, including yttrium (TREE+Y) was 84%. This is excellent news.

Near term stock catalysts

Imperial President & CEO, Peter Cashin, stated in August: “We are now in the final stages of the surface evaluation of our Crater Lake property. In addition to delivering the inaugural 43-101 resource estimation on our TG Zone later this month, we look forward to delivering on the results of the remainder of the targets present on the Crater Lake property. We clearly believe that much additional critical metal potential remains to be evaluated on our property as we have only drill-tested one-quarter of the favourable 14-km-long mineralized horizon. We also intend to assess a high-grade niobium-tantalum mineralized area identified in 2010, north and northwest of the scandium-bearing Crater Lake Complex.”

Imperial will now embark on a Summer 2021 campaign that will include surface evaluation of additional high priority scandium rare earth exploration targets outside of the drilled TG Zone mineralized area. 50-tonne bulk samples at the STG mineralized Zone will be used in a pilot plant study to further test and optimize Imperial’s metallurgical process method. Next, a detailed assessment of historical high grade rare earth, niobium, tantalum occurrences at the Crater Lake Extension property area will be undertaken. Following this will be a pilot plant study and a Preliminary Economic Assessment.

Closing remarks

Imperial Mining trades on a market cap of a mere C$20 million. Considering the outstanding drill results over the past year, outstanding hydromet recovery rates achieved to date, and the impending 43-101 preliminary Resource Estimate due out any day now the stock looks likely to be potentially re-rated higher soon. Don’t wait too long!

In an interview with Technology Metals Show host Jack Lifton,  President and CEO of Imperial Mining Group Ltd. (TSXV: IPG) Peter Cashin discusses the scandium market and the economics of the Crater Lake Project. Peter explains how Imperial Mining’s Crater Lake Project provides a strategic opportunity for an exciting new line of lightweighting products. The project also contains rare earths.

“How it (Crater Lake Project) stands out is that it is a primary bedrock opportunity in Quebec,” said Mr. Cashin, Imperial’s President and CEO. “The grades are exceptionally high relative to our peers for a bedrock deposit. It is exposed at surface so it would be amenable to an open pit operation. Our preliminary metallurgy shows that we have very strong recoveries and high rejection rates of the gangue minerals from our metallurgical work so far. We are ideally located very close to the aluminum capital of Canada.”

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“I bring attention to that Bloomberg article at the end of October speaking about the scandium market and some of the players. I was particularly surprised and pleased on the projections on consumption by 2035 of 1,800 tons of scandium. The current players, the advanced players that are in the scandium space are maybe 400 so I think there is a lot of opportunity for new players to come in and establish themselves in what I think is going to be a huge market going forward.” States Peter Cashin, President & CEO of Imperial Mining Group Ltd. (TSXV: IPG), in an interview with InvestorIntel Corp. CEO Tracy Weslosky.

Tracy Weslosky: It has been too long since we have received an update. What is going on with Imperial Mining?

Peter Cashin: Very busy summer and fall trying to get our projects up and going since inception in January. A gold project in Chibougamau, the south belt I told you about, was in a press release earlier this week and then of course active on our Crater Lake scandium project in northeastern Quebec. We are doing a lot of metals marketing, strategic marketing for scandium particularly in the EU and U.S. trying to get a pulse of the market because I think there is some potential big growth happening in the scandium space.

Tracy Weslosky: Okay. You have jumped right into scandium so let us go there. Is it too late to get into scandium because scandium has had some major movement in the last year. 

Peter Cashin: Correct. I bring attention to that Bloomberg article at the end of October speaking about the scandium market and some of the players. I was particularly surprised and pleased on the projections on consumption by 2035 of 1,800 tons of scandium. The current players, the advanced players that are in the scandium space are maybe 400 so I think there is a lot of opportunity for new players to come in and establish themselves in what I think is going to be a huge market going forward.

Tracy Weslosky: Some of you out there may not be aware the fact that Peter Cashin is one of the most respected experts and knowledgeable players in the critical materials sector. I am going to ask you to dumb it down for me. Is it too late to get into the scandium market?

Peter Cashin: Not at all. I think that there is an opportunity for growth. I think we are just in the early stages. The benefits of scandium were really fully understood starting in the 1970s and lots of R&D capacity went into learning the product and learning its benefits and looking for new markets. But, all plugs were pulled on all that R&D initiative back in 2012 because they could not get any sustainable supply. It was China or Russia and those are not reliable supply chains. You are starting to see the peers, my peers, now getting back into R&D with industry leaders. That is usually a precursor for explosive growth in the market. 

Tracy Weslosky: Okay. I heard that precursor for explosive growth in the market. I am also seeing here that you just put out a news release about mining samples at Crater Lake project in Quebec. Can you talk to us about these samples? 

Peter Cashin: Crater Lake is our flagship. It is a large intrusive complex. We knew about scandium back in 2014 when I was running Quest Rare Minerals. We did our work. We understand that there is about 6 kilometer long horizon that is very enriched in scandium that we have only just started to dust off now. This past summer was exactly intended to start opening up the zone, try to fully understand it and sample on its length for the purpose of identifying additional drill targets…to access the complete interview, click here

Disclaimer: Imperial Mining Group Ltd. is an advertorial member of InvestorIntel Corp.

“We are starting to do the metallurgy for scandium mineralization we have on the property. It is very positive. That is a process where we want to reduce the mine volumes by using magnetic concentration. It is looking like we will be able to reduce the amount of material we mine in half. That is important for reducing the footprint of the operation, reducing the transportation, infrastructure that is related to the project. Also there is a byproduct that we can actually sell out to the cement market.” States Peter Cashin, President & CEO of Imperial Mining Group Ltd. (TSXV: IPG), in an interview with InvestorIntel Corp. CEO Tracy Weslosky.

Peter Cashin: We are starting to do the metallurgy for scandium mineralization we have on the property. It is very positive. That is a process where we want to reduce the mine volumes by using magnetic concentration. It is looking like we will be able to reduce the amount of material we mine in half. That is important for reducing the footprint of the operation, reducing the transportation, infrastructure that is related to the project. Also there is a byproduct that we can actually sell out to the cement market. It is an iron powder product that they use as a strengthener and, again, always a reduction of the environmental footprint on the operation.

Tracy Weslosky: Many of you at InvestorIntel know who Peter Cashin is, but do you know who Imperial Mining is? Can you give us a bit of an overview of Imperial Mining?

Peter Cashin: Sure Tracy. Of course, when I left Quest I brought the Crater Lake, which was the Misery Lake scandium property. I was looking for a home for it. Initially I was thinking about going public with that entity. It did not work out, but we recently did an RTO with a Quebec-based explorer, NQ Exploration and they had some base metals and gold properties. I thought that is where investor intention was so we rolled those together to form Imperial. We went public on the TSX Venture just in January. 

Tracy Weslosky: For those of you out there watching leaders in our industry, Imperial Mining is one that we are all watching Peter. I think we should use this opportunity to maybe talk about what is happening with the scandium market…to access the complete interview, click here

Disclaimer: Imperial Mining Group Ltd. is an advertorial member of InvestorIntel Corp.

March 19, 2018 – “Carheil, in particular, is the extension of what SOQUEM calls their B26 property. They have defined about an 11-million ton massive sulfide, copper-zinc volcanogenic massive sulfide. They just recently optioned our ground. They are going to be undertaking about $4 million dollars of exploration over the next 4 years because they feel, as we do, that there is some very good copper-zinc potential.” states Peter Cashin, President & CEO of Imperial Mining Group Ltd. (TSXV: IPG), in an interview with InvestorIntel’s Peter Clausi.

Peter Clausi: I saw you last May and you were on another transaction at the time. I see that has evolved.

Peter Cashin: Correct.

Peter Clausi: How did you come to be in Imperial Mining? 

Peter Cashin: I was with Quest. I ran Quest from 2008 to 2015. When I left them. I brought a technology metals property with me called The Crater Lake Property. I tried to find a home for it. I put it into a whole co. by the name of Peak Mining Corporation. The idea was to try to make it become a public entity, fell on a tough market. What I did instead is I sought a junior, a dormant junior that had some good gold and base metal properties. It is NQ, NQ Exploration. I took those. We did a reverse takeover. We threw it into Imperial. I threw my technology metals property into it as well and we went public just at the beginning of January as a matter of fact.

Peter Clausi: That is Crater Lake.

Peter Cashin: That is the Crater Lake opportune. 

Peter Clausi: Where is that located? 

Peter Cashin: That is northeastern Quebec, east of the Schefferville, in the iron mining area. 

Peter Clausi: You have a project named SOQUEM.

Peter Cashin: It is called Carheil, but our partner is SOQUEM.

Peter Clausi: Right.

Peter Cashin: SOQUEM is the Quebec government’s Crown exploration corporation. Really their mandate is to stimulate exploration in the province of Quebec for different commodities. Carheil, in particular, is the extension of what SOQUEM calls their B26 property. They have defined about an 11-million ton massive sulfide, copper-zinc volcanogenic massive sulfide. They just recently optioned our ground. They are going to be undertaking about $4 million dollars of exploration over the next 4 years because they feel, as we do, that there is some very good copper-zinc potential. 

Peter Clausi: They made you a cash payment. 

Peter Cashin: Correct.

Peter Clausi: They can buy up to 50% for almost $4 million dollars over 4 years. 

Peter Cashin: That is correct. That is correct. 

Peter Clausi: That is a good project. 

Peter Cashin: They are good operators. They know the camp cold so aside from ourselves, they are the best second opportunity I think to advance the potential of the property.

Peter Clausi: You are in the right neighborhood. There is the past producing Selbaie Mine that kicked out 53 million tons.

Peter Cashin: Correct.

Peter Clausi: Looking at my numbers, because I have to cheat to read them, 1.9% zinc, 1% copper, 40.7 grams per ton.

Peter Cashin: Yes, it was open pittable so it is really a low-cost opportunity. That was BHP Billiton that operated that thing. 

Peter Clausi: When was that? 

Peter Cashin: That would have been in the 1980s and nineties. Now it is on care and maintenance for the tailings pond. Glencore has that right now. 

Peter Clausi: Okay so you are in the right neighborhood. Good project, good partner. What do we look for next? 

Peter Cashin: I am being carried so it is a good project. We have technical input on the direction of the exploration for that particular project…to access the complete interview, click here