Ion Exchange Technology Advances Scandium Recovery

Clean TeQ Water has been contracted by Sunrise Energy Metals to deliver a Front End Engineering Design (FEED) and early works package for the scandium recovery circuit at the Syerston Project. This engagement leverages the proprietary Moving Bed Ion Exchange (MBIX) platform and continuous Resin-in-Pulp (cRIP) technology to optimize critical metals processing in the hydrometallurgical and mining sectors.

Contract Scope and Financial Valuation
The full scope of the FEED and early works package is valued at up to A$5.4 million, excluding GST. Approximately A$2.0 million is allocated to the primary FEED delivery, structured on a firm twelve-month schedule-of-rates basis where billing is calculated by actual engineering hours and associated external expenses. An additional A$3.4 million serves as a provisional sum for long-lead deliverables aimed at protecting the overall project delivery timeline. These provisional deliverables are structured to be released in tranches at the strict written instruction of Sunrise Energy Metals. The project builds upon a preliminary testwork and engineering phase completed by Clean TeQ Water on 27 January 2026. Financial recognition for the core FEED workstream is substantially projected for the 2027 financial year.

Resin-in-Pulp and MBIX Technology Integration
The engineering package focuses on two primary process units at the New South Wales-based Syerston Scandium Project: the continuous Resin-in-Pulp (cRIP) ion exchange circuit and the subsequent downstream scandium refinery. The cRIP methodology relies on the MBIX (Moving Bed Ion Exchange) technology platform. This platform uses moving resin beds designed for continuous, counter-current extraction of target metals directly from leached slurries. Clean TeQ Water’s Chief Executive Officer Peter Voigt noted that transitioning from preliminary optimization into the FEED phase will allow the engineering team to deploy the ion exchange and refinery packages at the necessary industrial scale, utilizing their existing background in metallurgical process plant execution.

Application Across Critical Minerals
While this specific contract focuses on the hydrometallurgical processing of scandium, the core separation technology has broader applications. Under the existing intellectual property framework, Sunrise Energy Metals retains exclusive utilization rights for the MBIX technology strictly for scandium, nickel, and cobalt. Conversely, Clean TeQ Water maintains the ability to deploy the MBIX platform across other sectors, including industrial water treatment and the selective extraction of uranium, rare earth elements, and other high-value critical minerals.

Edited by Natania Lyngdoh, Induportals editor, assisted by AI.

www.cleanteqwater.com