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As the demand for solar energy has increased so has the demand for the
materials needed in the production of solar or photovoltaic panels.
Once installed, solar panels
produce zero emissions as they convert sunlight directly into energy via the
photovoltaic effect, bypassing the turbine system found in every other
commercial energy source. Azo.com
Some of the better known materials used in solar panel construction are;
1. aluminum for frames 2. copper for wiring 3. silver for soldered
connections 4. silicon for energy transmission 4. steel and concrete for
support structures.
One of the necessary components of a solar panel that no one thinks about
is the sheet of glass on the sun-facing side. This glass is absolutely
essential - it adds durability and protection for the semiconductor wafers
inside.
The basic raw materials needed for glass manufacturing are silica sand
(quartz), soda ash (sodium carbonate) and limestone (calcium carbonate).
Feldspar
Feldspars (K-spar & Na-spar) are also a necessary ingredient in the
manufacturing of glass. They are added primarily for their alumina content,
which improve hardness, durability and resistance to chemical corrosion. But
feldspars are also an important raw material in the manufacture of glass
because the alkali content in feldspar acts as a fluxing agent lowering the
glass batch melting temperature and thus reducing production costs and energy
consumption in the manufacturing processes.
The ceramic and glass industries are the major consumers of feldspar and
account for 95% of the total consumption.
“The Global market for feldspar is projected to reach 25.6 million
tonnes by 2022, driven primarily by the recovery in the world construction
industry and rising demand for glass and ceramic products. Also poised to
benefit market growth is steady industrialization in developing markets and
the ensuing rise in the use of feldspar in industrial applications where the
mineral’s alumina and alkali content are valuable features. The growing
global focus on renewable energy especially solar energy is expected to spur
consumption of feldspar in the production of solar glass used in solar
cells.” Global Industry Analysts. Inc., The Global Feldspar Market
Solar energy innovations are poised to stimulate significant demand in the
future adding to already growing demand for solar glass and, hence, the
K-spar and Na-spar required in its manufacture.
Solar windows
Rooftops are the obvious place for a solar panel because they receive more
direct sunlight than a building’s façade. But because of their sheer square
footage, certain building façades can be tapped as sources of solar-power
generation – and the windows themselves can be solar generators.
Experts say that, depending on the number of south-facing windows and the
building's location, solar panel tempered glasstechnology could provide from
20% to 30% of a building’s energy needs.
Tempered Glass Solar Glass Roof Tiles
The tiles have embedded solar photovoltaic cells between multi-layered
tempered glass.
Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, has recently made the claim that Solarcity’s new solar
roof tiles will be cheaper than a conventional roof even without adding in
the value of electricity generated. Your author thinks most readers would
agree the value of a Solarcity solar roof (after accounting for available
solar incentives), will be closely linked to its ability to generate
electricity over a substantial amount of time.
Solar roof tiles transform sunlight into power for your home and of
course, your electric car.
U.S. Production lost
Imerys Performance Minerals closed its U.S. feldspar production site in
December 2013. The company had previously been supplying 50% of U.S.
production of K-spar. Imerys’ lost production, the highest quality K-spar, is
being made up by imports of Spanish feldspar at US$400-450 ton landed at
Newark, New Jersey or Savannah, Georgia.
This is the Spanish K-spar, at the retail level, which is replacing
Imerys’ lost production of their G200 and G200HP products.
https://www.sheffield-pottery.com/G-200EU-Fel...potg200eu44.htm
Where’s the profit potential?
A friend and colleague, after reading my article up to this point, said:
“Where’s the profit potential? Guys who have industrial materials are
almost always private, they make a ton of money, that’s good, but boring
because they are private. Every guy with a gravel pit for concrete makes
money. But for concrete you need gravel, cement and water, for ceramics and
glass you need K and Na spar. They are all private so if you knew gravel and
feldspar were $100 billion dollar industries, you can’t invest in them.”
My friend is absolutely correct. Most industrial mineral companies are
private and they can make enormous amounts of money. Of course he did not
know about…
EnerSpar Corp. (TSX.V:ENER, FSE:5E0)
EnerSpar has acquired the Johan Beetz Feldspar property. The two types of
feldspar that are important components of mineralization within the
property’s pegmatite host are sodic (Na) feldspar and potassic (K) feldspar.
The property is located in Quebec, on tidewater on the North Shore of the
St. Lawrence River and has its own large docking facility. Easy access to the
eastern seaboard of North America, where the main distribution points
(Newark, New Jersey and Savannah, Georgia) are for imported feldspar, gives a
huge transport cost advantage to EnerSpar.
Concrete mill pads, storage and several ancillary buildings from Spar
Mica’s previous feldspar mining operation remain at the site – Yes; this is a
former producing mine from the 1950’s.
A power transmission line parallels the north shore of the St. Lawrence
river. Its closest approach to the property is roughly 4 km from the old Spar
Mica plant site.
A suitable workforce and heavy construction equipment is available from
Havre-Saint-Pierre (Johan Beetz is 60 km east of Havre St. Pierre).
Flotation Tests
IMD Project 90221, Report #90221-1 (October, 1989) - Flotation Tests on a
Sample of Feldspar Ore
Test #4 observations:
- The feldspar concentrate at 10.5% K20, 0.07% Fe2O3
content was judged to be very clean.
- An overall feldspar recovery of well over 90% appeared
likely.
A snippet from the 1989 report says: “Based on Test #4 (of 4
tests in Project 90221) it is evident that a high quality feldspar
product can be produced from the submitted sample. The approach taken in Test
#4 resulted in good separation efficiencies and product quality.”
“The Johan Beetz grade from the most successful flotation test appears
to be reasonably similar to the IMERYS product. It is anticipated that more
stringent process testing could improve the Johan Beetz result further.”
Technical Report Johan Beetz Feldspar Project, Bill McGuinty P.Geo., July
15th, 2016
The following resource numbers are historic and are non 43-101 compliant.
They are not to be relied on to make an investment decision.
 
High concentrations of alumina, and the alkalis K2O and Na2O, together
with low levels of trace elements such as iron oxide define a high quality
feldspar product.
Profit Potential
K-spar and Na-spar are used in ceramics, glass, tempered glass, PV glass
and solar tiles (Tesla is manufacturing it’s solar tiles in Buffalo, New
York, just a short sail from EnerSpar’s Johan Beetz project).
Bloomberg says:
By 2040, 34% of worldwide electricity will come from wind and solar and
72% of the $10.2 trillion spent on new power generation worldwide to 2040
will be invested in new wind and solar PV plants.
Investment in renewables across the Americas averages $50 billion per year
to 2040, to reach almost $1.5 trillion over 2017-40.
Inside Climate News
Conclusion
EnerSpar Corp (TSX.V:ENER, FSE:5E0) is a brand new, well run, tightly held
junior resource company in the industrial minerals space – an extremely rare
bird indeed.
Deposits of high quality K-spar that can be economically extracted are few
and far between.
Your author believes EnerSpar could produce high quality feldspar products
and that EnerSpar’s Johan Beetz property is already an extremely valuable
asset.
Currently there is no high quality K-spar or Na-spar production in North
America.
That’s got me thinking profit potential. And that my friend is why
EnerSpar is on my radar screen. Is it on yours?
If not, maybe it should be.
aheadoftheherd.com
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***
Legal Notice / Disclaimer
This document is not and should not be construed as an offer to sell or
the solicitation of an offer to purchase or subscribe for any investment.
Richard owns shares of EnerSpar Corp (TSX.V:ENER, FSE:5E0) and ENER is an
advertiser on his site.
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