Overview

We are working to advance production of Quicklime from our Limeco Project in Zambia, in addition to the exploration and development of Lithium and Coltan (Short for Columbite Tantalites) from our Atex Lithium Project in Côte d'Ivoire. Quicklime is required for the production of copper and is a key product required to produce cement and concrete. The key driver behind demand for Lithium in recent years is the increasing adoption of electric vehicles, where Lithium is a critical metal used in the batteries that these vehicles use. Firering intends to become a new source of supply of Lithium. Coltan is a dull black metallic ore, from which the elements tantalum and niobium are extracted. These strategic metals are necessary for the production of mobile phones and many other electronic devices. The development of our Coltan projects will be a key driver for our business.

Limestone
Limestone (calcium carbonate CaCO3) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of CaCO3. Limestone forms when these minerals precipitate out of water containing dissolved calcium.

At our Limeco plant in Zambia,we burn the limestone to produce Quicklime.

Quicklime
Calcium oxide (formula: CaO), commonly known as quicklime or burnt lime, is a widely used chemical compound. It is a white, caustic, alkaline, crystalline solid at room temperature. The broadly used term lime connotes calcium-containing inorganic compounds, in which carbonates, oxides, and hydroxides of calcium, silicon, magnesium, aluminium, and iron predominate. By contrast, quicklime specifically applies to the single compound calcium oxide. Calcium oxide that survives processing without reacting in building products, such as cement, is called free lime

 

Lithium
The primary use for lithium is in rechargeable batteries for EVs and consumer electronics, such as mobile phones and laptops. Lithium is also commonly used in non-rechargeable batteries for a range of applications including pacemakers, toys and clocks. Lithium metal is also used to make metal alloys, most commonly with aluminium or magnesium, to improve strength and/or reduce weight. Magnesium-lithium alloy can be used for armour plating and aluminium-lithium alloys are used in a number of manufacturing applications such as aircraft, bicycles, high-speed trains and luxury cars.

Tantalum & Niobium
The largest application for Tantalum is in high performance capacitors. Capacitors are used in just about most electronic devices. The roll out of 5G infrastructure and booming electrification in our homes, cars and workspaces, means there is a strong industrial and consumer demand base for Tantalum.

Niobium is an effective microalloying element for steel and is an important metal in the creation of superalloys, a group of polymetallic high performance alloys that possess very high melting temperatures, high strength, and considerable resistance to wear in corrosive and oxidizing environments. Superalloys are needed for the manufacture of jet engines, air-based turbines, and land-based turbines. Nickel-Tantalum super-alloys used in jet engines provide as another key industrial demand driver.