CIC Resources is preparing to start up a pilot separation plant at its Parana ilmenite deposit in Paraguay, which it says is the largest proven titanium minerals resource in the world.
Located in the Alto Parana and Canindeyu provinces of eastern Paraguay, the project is on track to become the first major mine in the landlocked South American country.
David Lowell, the Vancouver-based company’s president and CEO, told IM that the pilot plant was due to start up by the end of September.
The mineral separation facility will produce a 100-tonne ilmenite concentrate sample to be tested by Mintek in South Africa, which will be used in the Paran‡ project’s feasibility study.
The 185,000 hectare (1,850km2) deposit was discovered during a bauxite exploration programme CIC Resources carried out in Ecuador, Colombia and Paraguay.
“We found a little bauxite in the Alto Parana plateau...