TMLonggun
7 years ago
I agree. It should also be noted Niocorp is mainly about niobium while SCY is a pure scandium play, with all the pros and cons that entails. SCY has basically unlimited production potential while Nio's scandium ore is not even correlated directly with niobium, which means they are kind of going in two directions. SCY is easy geology at surface (like Mexus), NIO is deeper and complex. Nio needs a billion dollars (ouch) SCY needs 1/10 that for a much higher margin project. SCY needs 125% market cap for their project, Nio needs 560%+ - very hard to raise 5.6 x your market cap for a project. Very easy in comparison to raise 100m (near market cap) with a DFS that has such a high IRR.
The market desires reliable supply and any one project is insufficient to provide that. If the sector leaders succeed, then the new class of scandium juniors and wannabes will develop their deposits - scandium is found all over the world, US, Canada, northern Europe, Australia etc but nothing quite matches the Australian laterites which are the undisputed mother lode of scandium - bar none - no known comparable deposits exist outside of Australia. Look at the grades and depths side by side - they are striking. Niocorp can easily succeed and make a lot of money for its holders but comparing their scandium discovery to SCY or any of the other Australians like Clean Teq or Metallica is a joke. One is a lean, mean Olympic athlete, the other is a tad overweight.
Side note: Clean Teq now has a Canadian listing (finally!) and is an excellent company with fascinating water purification technology and some of the best scandium on Earth. Kind of an interesting combo, even if they have slowed development of their mining projects as I understand it. On my list to do some research, I really like Friedland.
Probably worth it to own a basket of scandium companies weighted in SCY's favour imo.
I bet SCY starts to raise money here shortly and that should begin the next (less boring) stage of the mine cycle. In the mean time, we wait patiently (or not).
BL4Nio
7 years ago
Scandium International Secures Scandium Exploration Property in Finland
https://web.tmxmoney.com/article.php?newsid=6960952900352979&qm_symbol=SCY
Reno, Nevada--(Newsfile Corp. - September 25, 2017) - Scandium International Mining Corp. (TSX: SCY) ("Scandium International" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that its wholly-owned subsidiary company, Scandium International Mining Corp., Norway AS, has been granted a reservation on an Exploration License for the Kiviniemi Scandium Property in central Finland from the Finnish regulatory body governing mineral exploration and mining in Finland. The Geological Survey of Finland ("GTK") conducted airborne survey work on the area in 1986, conducted exploration drilling on the property in 2008-2010, and published those program results on their public GTK website in 2016.
HIGHLIGHTS:
Kiviniemi property previously identified for scandium and explored by GTK,
Property is a high iron content, medium grade scandium target, located on surface, with on-site upgrade potential,
Early resource upgrade work done for GTK promising, confirmed by SCY,
Property is all-weather accessible, close to infrastructure, and
Finland location is mining-friendly and ideally suited to EU customer markets.
BL4Nio
7 years ago
Scandium International Consolidates 100% Ownership of Nyngan Scandium Project
Scandium International Consolidates 100% Ownership of Nyngan Scandium Project
Scandium International Mining Corp. (TSX:SCY) ("Scandium International" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding and reached agreement with Scandium Investments LLC ("SIL"), to acquire SIL's 20% ownership of EMC Metals Australia Pty Ltd, ("EMC-A"). The transaction will increase the Company's ownership of EMC-A from 80% to 100%. EMC-A holds both the Nyngan and Honeybugle scandium projects located in New South Wales, Australia. The Company will issue 57,371,565 shares of the Company to acquire SIL's shares of EMC-A, representing 20% of the issued shares of the Company on a post-transaction basis. The transaction is considered non-dilutive to existing SCY shareholders. The Company will issue 57,371,565 shares of the Company to acquire SIL's shares of EMC-A, representing 20% of the issued shares of the Company on a post-transaction basis. The transaction is considered non-dilutive to existing SCY shareholders
HIGHLIGHTS:
Transaction consolidates SCY ownership in Nyngan/Honeybugle Projects to 100%,
Will accelerate development of Nyngan Scandium Project through better alignment,
Transaction considered non-dilutive to existing SCY shareholders,
SIL becomes largest Company shareholder, and
SIL to nominate two directors to the Company's board of directors.
BL4Nio
8 years ago
Scandium International Mining Corp. Receives Mining Lease Grant for Nyngan Scandium Project
Reno, Nevada--(Newsfile Corp. - May 5, 2017) - Scandium International Mining Corp. (TSX: SCY) ("Scandium International" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that its subsidiary company, EMC Metals Australia, has been granted a Mining Lease for the Nyngan Scandium Project in New South Wales ("NSW"), Australia. The Mining Lease ("ML") overlays select areas previously covered by two Exploration Licenses. The ML was granted by the Minister for Resources of the State of New South Wales on May3, 2017, and represents the final major approval required from the NSW Government to begin construction on the project.
HIGHLIGHTS:
Mining Lease grant received on Nyngan Project (ML 531),
Represents final key project approval required from NSW Government,
Permits development of the world's first primary scandium mine,
Triggers project partners' decisions to reach Final Investment Decision ("FID") and,
Allows SCY to actively begin mine development, subject to project funding.
Discussion:
The Mining Lease grant represents the final governmental primary approval needed to construct a mine in the State of NSW, Australia. The ML was awarded after all environmental work was completed and reviewed, all social implications of project development were considered, and the NSW Environmental Minister issued a Development Consent in November 2016. The ML grant reflects the further review that the State resource value was considered and approved for extraction based on mine development plans. The ML was offered for a period of 21 years, and is based on the development plans and intent submitted in the ML Application. The ML can be modified by NSW regulatory agencies, as requested by EMC Australia ("EMC-A") over time, to reflect changing operating conditions.
This ML grant represents the culmination of a seven-year effort by SCY and our team of specialists, consultants and technicians, working on the Nyngan Scandium Project since 2010. That process has specifically included:
Defining a NI 43-101 scandium resource on the property,
Testing and proving a metallurgical process to economically produce significant commercial quantities of scandium oxide, and mine plans to extract scandium ore for refining to commercial grade scandium product,
Demonstrating viable economics with an independently prepared (NI 43-101) Definitive Feasibility Study,
Completing all environmental, social, developmental, and regulatory requirements specified by NSW regulators, and
Receiving final NSW Department Ministerial approvals and sign-off on this work.
SCY currently owns 80% of the Nyngan Scandium Project, through ownership of 80% of EMC Metals Australia. Our minority partner, Scandium Investments LLC ("SIL") owns the remaining 20% of the Project, through its 20% ownership in EMC-A. The ML grant triggered an option for SIL to convert their 20% interest in EMC-A into SCY common shares, which SIL may exercise in their sole discretion until mid-June 2017. If SIL does not exercise the option and elects to retain its 20% ownership interest in EMC-A, their free-carry period for development costs will end, and the partners will be required to fund development costs on a pro-rata basis to their ownership of EMC-A.
George Putnam, CEO of Scandium International Mining Corp. commented:
"This Mining Lease grant is a major milestone in the Company's development of the Nyngan Scandium Project. It signals the full support of state government, regulators, and the community for our endeavor, and is validation of the level and quality of work that has been committed to date. We couldn't be more pleased with this show of support and encouragement from NSW regulators to move forward and build Nyngan into the world's first primary scandium mine, and to do so in NSW, Australia"
QUALIFIED PERSONS AND NI 43-101 TECHNICAL REPORT
Willem Duyvesteyn, MSc, AIME, CIM, a Director and CTO of the Company, is a qualified person for the purposes of NI 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical content of this press release on behalf of the Company.
ABOUT SCANDIUM INTERNATIONAL MINING CORP.
The Company is focused on developing the Nyngan Scandium Project into the world's first scandium-only producing mine. The Company owns an 80% interest in both the Nyngan Scandium Project, and the adjacent Honeybugle Scandium Property, in New South Wales, Australia, and is manager of both projects. Our joint venture partner, Scandium Investments LLC, owns the remaining 20% in both projects, along with an option to convert those direct project interests into SCY common shares, based on market value, by mid-June 2017.
The Company filed a NI 43-101 technical report in May 2016, titled "Feasibility Study — Nyngan Scandium Project". That feasibility study delivered an expanded scandium resource, a first reserve figure, and an estimated 33.1% IRR on the project, supported by extensive metallurgical test work and an independent, 10-year global marketing outlook for scandium demand.
For further information, please contact:
George Putnam, President and CEO.
Tel: 925-208-1775
Email: info@scandiummining.com
This press release contains forward-looking statements about the Company and its business. Forward looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and include, but are not limited to statements regarding any future development of the project. The forward-looking statements in this press release are subject to various risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause the Company's actual results or achievements to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by forward looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and other factors include, without limitation risks related to uncertainty in the demand for Scandium and pricing assumptions; uncertainties related to raising sufficient financing to fund the project in a timely manner and on acceptable terms; changes in planned work resulting from logistical, technical or other factors; the possibility that results of work will not fulfill expectations and realize the perceived potential of the Company's properties; uncertainties involved in the estimation of Scandium reserves and resources; the possibility that required permits may not be obtained on a timely manner or at all; the possibility that capital and operating costs may be higher than currently estimated and may preclude commercial development or render operations uneconomic; the possibility that the estimated recovery rates may not be achieved; risk of accidents, equipment breakdowns and labor disputes or other unanticipated difficulties or interruptions; the possibility of cost overruns or unanticipated expenses in the work program; risks related to projected project economics, recovery rates, and estimated NPV and anticipated IRR and other factors identified in the Company's SEC filings and its filings with Canadian securities regulatory authorities.
Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, opinions and expectations of the Company's management at the time they are made, and other than as required by applicable securities laws, the Company does not assume any obligation to update its forward-looking statements if those beliefs, opinions or expectations, or other circumstances, should change.
TMLonggun
8 years ago
March 2, 2017 (Source) — Scandium International Mining Corp. (TSX: SCY) (“Scandium International” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) with Weston Aluminium Pty Ltd (“Weston”) of Chatswood, NSW, Australia. The MOU defines a cooperative commercial alliance (“Alliance”) to jointly develop the capability to manufacture aluminum-scandium master alloy (“Master Alloy”). The intended outcome of this Alliance will be to develop the capability to offer Nyngan Project aluminum alloy customers scandium in form of Al-Sc Master Alloy, should customers prefer that product form.
HIGHLIGHTS:
MOU outlines terms of a commercial alliance with Weston Aluminum,
Represents key steps towards Master Alloy manufacturing agreement,
Allows SCY to quickly apply know-how alongside operating aluminum processor,
Supports a product offer more suitable to many downstream customers, thereby expanding the potential customer base, and
Allows SCY to bring added value to significant potential scandium markets.
The MOU outlines steps to jointly establish the manufacturing parameters, metallurgical processes, and capital requirements to convert Nyngan Project scandium product into Master Alloy, on Weston’s existing production site in NSW. The MOU does not include a binding contract with commercial terms at this stage, although the intent is to pursue the necessary technical elements to arrive at a commercial contract for conversion of scandium oxide to Master Alloy, and to do so prior to first mine production from the Nyngan Project.
Discussion:
SCY has been developing an internal understanding and capability to convert scandium oxide to Master Alloy for some time. In 2014, the Company announced it applied for a US Patent on Master Alloy production, which is still in the application phase. That Patent Application addressed scandium Master Alloys with both aluminum-base and magnesium-base metals. The Company has investigated scandium Master Alloy manufacturing processes previously with the CSIRO, in Australia, and Kingston Process Metallurgy (KPM) in Ontario, Canada. Further, the technical team in SCY has previous relevant experience in this metallurgical area.
Weston Aluminium is a privately-owned, established secondary aluminum and industrial services company with its production facilities located near Kurri Kurri in, NSW, approximately 50km from Newcastle and 400km from the Nyngan Project. Using an environmentally attractive ‘non-salt’ processing technology from Asahi Seiren in Japan as its core technology, Weston has further developed its application to process all forms of aluminum bearing dross and by-products from the aluminum industry, and manufacturing Aluminum Deoxidant for steel making for BlueScope Steel at Port Kembla NSW and Arrium at Whyalla SA. Weston recycles industrial aluminum scrap, and dross, principally from the Tomago Aluminum Smelter located north of Newcastle, which is an independent joint venture between Rio Tinto Alcan, CSR and Hydro Aluminum. Weston today recycles 20,000 tonnes of aluminum materials annually, and has established capability in recovering valuable metals from metallurgical process dross materials, resulting in zero land fill.
BL4Nio
8 years ago
Great news! They got the "Ministerial Development Consent for it's Nyngan Scandium Project, in New South Wales Australia, as awarded by the NSW Minister of Planning, in Sydney, Australia."
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=126456995
"This Development Consent represents an approval to develop the Nyngan Scandium Project and is based on an Environmental Impact Statement (“EIS”) which was submitted in support of mine development by the Company in May 2016. The Development Consent follows an in-depth review of the EIS, the project plan, community impact studies, public EIS exhibition and commentary, and economic viability, and involved more than 12 specialized governmental agencies and groups."
George Putnam, CEO of Scandium International Mining Corp. commented:
"Receipt of this Development Consent from the NSW government represents a significant milestone for our Nyngan Scandium Project. This key governmental approval was achieved in a short 6 month timeframe, and speaks well of the project, the team that assembled the submission, and the many local community and governmental regulatory interests who inspected, reviewed, and supported this mine development.
This critical gating approval feeds directly into the process for granting of a mining lease, which is the remaining significant governmental clearance we need to begin mine and plant construction next year. We remain on our target timetable to have all final State approvals for mine development by year end 2016."
TMLonggun
8 years ago
It is a dead period that will likely end within 6-9 months (or perhaps sooner but I always add to timelines in order to be conservative). Everything moves slowly in the mining world but if SCY is still languishing without news in 6 months I will be rebuying the shares I sold earlier this summer, because its price will probably be lower because without news a news-driven company has nowhere to go. I knew it would be boring so I took profits and bought MXSG which is just entering an exciting development stage, just finishing construction and nearing a gold pour. I only made that decision because I have played the junior game dozens of times and that experience gives me confidence in what I am doing. I also have enough SCY that if they are financed tomorrow I will cheer instead of cry.
Trading in juniors can be risky too, often people sell and are forced to rebuy higher. Never short a junior or mining stock unless they are not drilling and are obviously garbage or you might be paying back a negative 5 bagger. The best advice for this I know is to keep a strong core 75-95% and trade the remainder. But when you are buying and selling be careful to trade the extremes. Juniors are volatile, so take advantage of it. If the stock goes down to 10 cents on good news, buy. If it trends up in a straight or near straight line for a uncomfortable long period (weeks high 14 rsi, etc) then sell -- you can often get free shares in a week or two when it cools down.
SCY has already told us what is coming:
• Timetable and milestones to production 2.
– Mining Lease Application on file now, ML anticipated in Q4 2016,
– Seeking project funding with ML grant-also Q4 2016,
– Construction start date – Q1 2017.
2- subject to financing. The financing is key. So be careful as that timeline gets long in the tooth, you do not want to sell the day before they announce financing on average-good-excellent terms. The better the terms and volume of the raise, the larger the reaction. If they raise a small tranche for a few million at bad terms that would be a stopgap and a bad sign.
Ideally this will drift down until it is financed (darkest before the dawn) and once the last few ducks are in a row SCY should gradually increase during construction and then begin a boring, but profitable stage of production, expansion, and hopefully padding our pockets.
TMLonggun
8 years ago
In my opinion they have muted interest in PR for two reasons, the leadership of the company (minor), and the type of company it is/where it sits in its development timeline (major).
I actually think SCY does a good job of communicating relative to its peers. This is the part of the equation I think you are missing. Mining is a very risky business where the majority of several thousand junior explorers will fail at their goal of finding an economic mineral deposit. Then on top of that many of the "lottery winners" will still fail and dilute to oblivion or go bankrupt because, despite winning the lottery, they are still far from mining and have many hoops to jump through. On average, from the first drill bit breaking the earth all the way to the first product, will now take a normal company 10-20 years to begin mining. With this in mind a 3 month gap with no visible PR is completely expected, especially during this period. The 2 things that will boost SP at the moment is an off-take and financing - both are negotiated privately until complete, and then announced. Work doesn't stop because the PRs do. On my other big holding, Mexus, there was ongoing joint venture discussions for several YEARS yet nothing came of them...until they actually signed them. To an outsider it looked like years of nothing followed by a sudden something, but the reality on the ground was completely different. Shareholders were irate at the lack of news, demanded updates, and so during that lull the company released really wussy news like "we are in discussions with two mining companies..." or w/e I personally would rather hear nothing than read a 0 calorie PR.
So when people are wondering about more information and updates they unrealistically demand that a company like SCY (that is further into this process than any other company on earth and over a decade ahead of schedule) to "hurry up" or share information they don't have, or worse- pump the stock with meaningless PRs. Mining is not a "hurry up" industry and Putnam is not a pumper nor does SCY have the resources for good PR at this early stage of development when conserving cash and raising money is of absolute paramount importance. This is just one of the dead periods in a natural mine development life cycle. Some speculators trade in and out if they know there won't be drilling and development PRs for a while. "Reassuring investors" is very low on the priority list at the moment and is arguably a waste of time and money since it would only affect the small holders and what many would call "weak hands". The big shareholders are aware this is a very unique mining play with long term implications. Anyone not looking 5-10 years in the future is very myopic in my opinion. In the next 5 years there is going to lots of SCY news and more exciting trading as it gets into more lucrative stages of its development.
These patterns are very common:
https://www.google.ca/search?q=junior+lifecycle&client=firefox-b-ab&prmd=ivns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwimkeTu0NjPAhVLmR4KHT88AK4QsAQIGw
I feel like every mining stock should come with the disclaimer "This is going to take 20 years. It is a long road but we will try and do it in 5-10. If we succeed without diluting you to an extreme level you will probably make a lot of money and if we don't your money will join the ranks of the undead juniors."
TMLonggun
8 years ago
Not sure who are speaking to but in regards to your and Kaseymoe's questions-- SCY is boring because it is in a boring stage of its (and any mine's) development. They also have no interest in PR or pumping scandium.
That may not be a satisfying answer but it is the truth. All of the previous milestones have been well telegraphed and no one cared until the moment they were complete and even then the action was relatively muted. So in the future you will see some more appointments of production, development, and operations personnel like this:
July 6, 2016 / Scandium International Mining Corp. (TSX: SCY) ("Scandium International" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Nigel J. Ricketts to the Nyngan Project team as Vice President, Project and Market Development. Dr. Ricketts is a metallurgist with a 30-year career in mine project, engineering, flow sheet design, and advanced research in metallurgy and alloy development. His career spans numerous specialty, base, and precious metals projects, including projects and processes targeting magnesium, aluminum, gold, copper, lateritic nickel, palladium & PGM's, lead-zinc, and scandium.
Most recently Dr. Ricketts and partners formed Altrius Engineering Services (AES, Brisbane, QLD. Australia), where he did extensive flow sheet design work on the Nyngan Project, both at preliminary economic assessment (PEA) stage and again at definitive feasibility study (DFS) stage. In addition, Nigel designed and managed numerous scandium test work programs that defined and refined the current project flow sheet for the Nyngan project.
Nigel's previous roles in project engineering with AMEC Minproc Ltd., AMEC Mining & Metals, Worley Parsons, and Chesser Resources in complex mineral recovery businesses are all highly relevant to the detailed design/construction/commissioning work about to start at Nyngan. Nigel will support any further flow sheet optimization work, early-works project engineering, and manage major vendors on long lead project items.
Dr. Ricketts also worked for CSIRO, the Australian government-supported technical research center in Melbourne, as a principal research scientist, for 15 years. His principal specialties were magnesium alloys and casting techniques. Dr. Ricketts is the author and holder of 5 metallurgical patents in alloy and flow sheet design. This technical metallurgy background will assist Nigel in his other role in SCY, which is his significant involvement in global marketing efforts for scandium oxide product.
Dr. Ricketts received a metallurgy degree (B App Sc) from South Australian Institute of Technology in 1985, followed by a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Monash University in Melbourne in 1993. Nigel will report to John D. Thompson in Australia, who continues in his role as General Manager, Australia, for SCY.
George Putnam, CEO of Scandium International Mining Corp. commented:
"I am very pleased to welcome Nigel Ricketts to the SCY team. Nigel has been doing great work for us in technical, business and marketing areas for two years now, with help from his partners at AES. He has excellent local experience, highly relevant to our scandium project, and we are very fortunate to have him now on staff, fully involved with us, to construct the Nyngan Scandium project and assist us to further develop this business."
Followed by permit and mining license information being completed and lined up. No one outside our circle will care about this either. It is probable they will release another offtake agreement, which would be great news but the market still probably won't care. Mining is a game of waiting wherein you wait for different periods to wait. We are in one of the most boring of those periods, the post-discovery blues. This has a small number of news items and often drilling and discovery is halted. So what if you got one of the best resources ever found on earth that is capable of transforming several industries! What percentage of humans on the planet are aware of it and capable of acting on it? A tiny fraction of a fraction of one percent. Scandium has been well known in certain communities for decades and nothing has ever came of it. So people take the default skeptical stance, the show me the money attitude. This isn't wrong, just a tad myopic. Customers want a stable supply to commit but in order to have a stable supply someone must build it...with such commitments from investors, suppliers, or banks. This is what SCY is doing and why the next major milestone will be project financing. They have done all the necessary drilling and studies and have enough capable, connected management that they will be financed and most likely on good-excellent terms given the attractive economics of their studies. This has a near 100% chance of happening in my opinion. Yet still no one will really care until it happens, but when it does then SCY will rise and reach a new tier of share price and begin the next stage of waiting for construction to begin, followed by waiting for it to finish. A financed SCY with a complete plant is worth multiples of current price and a profitable producing SCY worth more still.
http://investorintel.com/technology-metals-intel/russia-launches-production-high-purity-scandium/
http://investorintel.com/technology-metals-intel/texas-mineral-resources-corp-to-make-scandium-lesser-pain-in-the-ash/
More competition is coming, which will only develop the market and serve to outline how unique the Australian high grade laterite ores truly are. Scandium interest is up and SCY is plodding along, still on track to be the world's first primary scandium mine...eventually. Five to ten years is not a long time; profits often go to the patient and wise.
Take care.