First Atlas plant
Our First Commercial plant will produce a range of critical minerals – magnesium metal, nickel, and cobalt – to support domestic supply chains in energy, defense, transportation, and advanced manufacturing – with zero-waste. All by-products produced by our process are either saleable for use in other industries or can be reused.
Paul Newling, MD of NewPro Engineering, Ken Baxter, SVP of Engineering at Atlas Materials, David Dreisinger, CEO at Atlas Materials, Pierre Charlent, Adviser on Geology and Nickel Ore Procurement at Atlas Materials.
We are working with leading participants in the mining and mineral processing industry to prepare for the building of our First Commercial Plant to demonstrate the technological and economic viability of the pioneering Atlas Process as well as its scalability. The plant will produce magnesium metal, with nickel and cobalt MHP, a Supplementary Cementitious Material (SCM), and an aluminate as revenue generating by-products.
Atlas is currently in the final phase of assessing a short-list of potential sites in North America and Australia in order to select the optimal location for our first plant. The selected site will benefit from significant job creation and economic development opportunities that our plant will create and have the necessary infrastructure to provide suitable access for the regional supply chain.
Atlas already has a long-term supply agreement for saprolite ore in place with SMGM, a well-established, reputable New Caledonian mining company.
First Commercial’s Products
Our first plant will produce:
Magnesium Chloride
Very high-purity Magnesium Chloride solution used to make:
1. Magnesium Oxide
2. Magnesium Metal
Magnesium Metal
Primary magnesium metal for defense, aerospace, automotive, and aluminum manufacturing supply chains. The U.S. currently produces zero primary magnesium domestically. The Atlas facility will provide a meaningful domestic source of Magnesium metal, Nickel, and Cobalt, principally for North American markets.
Nickel and Cobalt
Nickel in the form of Mixed Hydroxide Precipitate (MHP), containing both Nickel and a associated amount of Cobalt to be used in battery production. Through a partnership with 6K Energy of Massachusetts, we are assessing ways to use Atlas produced MHP in advanced battery manufacturing processes as an input to cathode active material (CAM and pCAM).
Magnesium Oxide
High-purity MgO for fireproofing, refractory liners, industrial insulation, fertilisers, water treatment, and display screen applications.
Aluminate and SCM co-product
A supplementary cementitious material that can be used as a partial replacement for cement to enhance performance, reduce costs and support decarbonization in the concrete industry. As well as an aluminate co-product suitable for use as a refractory material in high-temperature industrial applications.
Markets
Atlas is focused on developing products to serve the critical minerals markets for Magnesium Metal and Nickel.
Magnesium Metal
Magnesium Metal is not currently produced in the US despite being designated as a critical metal by both the US and Canada. Magnesium Metal is an increasingly important material used in the automotive, defense and aerospace industries helping to reduce the weight of end-products. Atlas aims to secure new North American supply for the Magnesium Metal market which is currently dominated by China, who control approximately 87% of global production.
Historical and Forecast Magnesium Supply 2010 to 2035, kt/yr
Nickel
There is an emerging global shortage of Nickel that can be used in battery supply chains with some expecting a battery Nickel supply deficit that could reach nearly 900,000 tons per year by 2030. The Atlas Process enables production of battery grade Nickel, which is currently designated as a critical mineral in both the US and Canada.