Impact Minerals (ASX:IPT) Managing Director Dr Mike Jones says the value of its Lake Hope High Purity Alumina (HPA) Project in Western Australia has been “significantly” boosted following the first year of the cooperative research centres projects (CRC-P) program.
“Our teams at Edith Cowan University (ECU) and CPC Engineering are demonstrating clear pathways to lowering operating costs, enhancing water efficiency, and producing high-value fertiliser by-products – especially high-purity sulphate of potash (SOP) and magnesium-potash,” Jones says.
The company is undergoing a $2.87 million CRC-P program with CPC Engineering and the Mineral Recovery Research Centre at ECU to streamline Impact’s HPA production process by integrating membrane technology.
The current progress of the program has led to a benchmark production of 10,000 tonnes per annum of HPA, as reflected in the company’s Prefeasibility Study.
“As our understanding of potash crystallisation deepens, we have recognised a much larger potash opportunity that could develop alongside the Lake Hope Project. Additionally, we have identified a brine freezing technology that may further enhance the economics of potash production,” Jones adds.
“These outcomes, based around elegant membrane technologies, strongly support the advantages of our patented HPA process for producing low-carbon, low-waste HPA, and also highlight the potential to fully realise the commercial opportunities of the Lake Hope Project.”
Mineral Recovery Research Centre Leader and CRC-P Lead Investigator Amir Razmjou says the program has reached strong progress from integrating membrane technologies.
“The results are promising in reducing the water footprint and environmental impact, while enabling high-purity SOP production and recovering waste energy to minimise overall energy input,” Razmjou says.
“In 2026, we expect further advances in membrane integration across the flowsheet, alongside pilot-scale development and optimisation of the key process steps.”
The program will organise a 500kg homogenised sample of clay from the Lake Hope Project in order to scale up to a pilot plant for stage one of this process, using the clay as feedstock.
Impact Minerals is an Australian explorer, driving the Lake Hope High Purity Alumina Project in Western Australia.
Write to Maddison Elliott at Mining.com.au
Images: Impact Minerals
