Andromeda Metals (ASX:ADN) has produced high purity alumina (HPA) with a measured purity of 99.9986% from Great White kaolin at its continuous pilot plant.
The result exceeds the 99.99% threshold for 4N — or ‘four nines’ — HPA and marks a scale-up from Andromeda’s previous laboratory production.
HPA is used in products including lithium-ion battery separators, light-emitting diodes, semiconductors, synthetic sapphire, and advanced ceramics.
Independent analysis by EAG Laboratories, part of Eurofins Scientific (EPA:ERF), measured total metallic impurities of 14.47 parts per million using glow discharge mass spectrometry.
This produced the headline purity of 99.9986% under the industry-standard calculation. A more conservative calculation, which included reporting limits for elements below detection, returned 99.9963%. Both results meet the 4N specification.
Acting CEO Sarah Clarke says the pilot result provides further evidence that Andromeda’s proprietary process can produce 4N HPA beyond laboratory conditions.
“Having previously achieved 4N HPA at laboratory scale, we have now demonstrated that our proprietary process can produce 4N HPA under continuous pilot operating conditions,” Clarke says.
The pilot plant will continue operating throughout 2026 to produce samples for potential customers, refine the flowsheet, assess operating parameters, and generate engineering data for a planned Prefeasibility Study.
Andromeda says it expects samples to become available for customer evaluation during the second half of 2026, including through its supply heads of agreement with privately held Traxys North America.
The company’s 2025 Scoping Study assessed staged production of up to 10,000 tonnes per annum. It estimated a pre-tax net present value at a 10% discount rate of approximately $1.48 billion and average annual earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation of $247 million.
The company notes the estimates remain subject to further technical work, customer testing, and evaluation of commercial-scale production.
Andromeda Metals is also assessing potential amorphous silica and gallium co-products. Silica samples have been submitted for analysis to evaluate their characteristics and possible applications.
Write to France Pinzon at Mining.com.au
Images: Andromeda Metals
