PhD student wins competition for environmental work on Commerce Resources’ Ashram deposit

Commerce Resources  (TSXv: CCE) announced Thursday that Sophie Costis, a PhD student with the Université du Québec, has won the “défi de la recherche en géosciences” (Geoscience Research Challenge) for her work related to the characterization of flotation tailings generated using the flowsheet for the Ashram Rare Earth and Fluorspar Deposit in Quebec. 

The competition was organized by “l’Association Québécoise des Sciences de la Terre” (AQUEST) and consisted of candidates presenting their research projects in the field of geosciences at the Quebec Mines + Energy conference held in Quebec City last month.  Costis won first prize for her oral presentation on Ashram and received a certificate of excellence as well as a $2,000 scholarship for her efforts. 

The PhD work is being jointly funded through a grant, totaling C$300,000, from the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Nature et technologie (FRQNT) and the Ministère de l’Énergie et des Ressources naturelles (MERN). This work is being completed in partnership with the Centre Eau Terre Environnement of the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS), a research-oriented branch of the Université du Québec. The PhD project is expected to conclude in late 2020 and will provide a sound basis for continued work on the tailings management of the flotation process plant.