Impact Minerals (ASX:IPT) is on track to complete the Lake Hope Prefeasibility Study (PFS) by year-end or Q1 2025 with “significant synergies” being unlocked, and a process route under investigation that could substantially reduce production costs.
Speaking to Mining.com.au, Managing Director Dr Mike Jones says Impact recently established that one of the process pathways can produce high-value fertiliser products and offers a considerable offset to the cost of production as a byproduct credit.
Further testwork is required to optimise that process with the results ultimately determining how quickly the $39.77 million market capitalisation company can progress from the PFS to a Bankable Feasibility Study (BFS).
Impact has been investigating the potential carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the project, with the aim of making the Lake Hope High Purity Alumina (HPA) Project, located 500km east of Perth in Western Australia, completely carbon neutral over time.
To achieve its net zero carbon goal, the company needs to eliminate or offset the emissions from power generation, as well as from mining, transport, and calcining.
The company is now well-advanced with such investigations, as well as the PFS, which Jones notes is a precursor to more detailed studies that will ascertain the level of project financing required.
“This will determine when we enter production and is related to obtaining offtake agreements,” the MD tells this news service.
Impact has now identified land in Kwinana, south of Perth, on which to build the proposed plant to produce high quality fertiliser from the project. This land has ready access to suppliers of the reagents Impact needs, and also potential buyers of its byproducts, the MD adds.
“These synergies hold significant value for Impact,” Jones continues.
Impact is continuing discussions with potential suppliers of the input reagents required for the Low-Temperature Leach (LTL) process and prospective buyers of the associated fertiliser and acid byproducts, as well as access to suitable land.
“These synergies hold significant value for Impact”
Discussions are also underway for potential synergies with existing alumina businesses in Europe and the US, Jones adds.
“Once the PFS is bedded down and the BFS is underway we can look to establish (letters of intent) with a view to formal sale and purchase agreements once a timeline to production is established,” Jones explains.
“That will require offtake agreements with end users of the products and this will be a focus for 2025 and 2026. Discussions with overseas alumina companies are still at an early stage.”
Impact is managing all of the PFS and early stage discussions in-house and has not retained external advisors.
High hope ahead
Looking ahead, Jones says Impact will soon be updating the market on the resources at Lake Hope, releasing the results of mining studies, plus reporting on details of the ongoing testwork, as well as of engineering studies and plant design on the Kwinana site.
On 12 August, this news service reported Impact has lodged a mining lease application (MLA63/684) and associated miscellaneous licence for the Lake Hope HPA Project in Western Australia.
The approvals process, as well as the logistics and estimated costs of mining and transporting mud to the process plant, form some of the key parts of the PFS.
The PFS has followed on from a “positive” Scoping Study, which showed that for a benchmark production of 10,000 tonnes per annum of HPA, the project has an estimated post-tax net present value (NPV8) of about $1.3 billion. It would also potentially be one of the lowest-cost producers of HPA globally.
Significant progress is being made on the main pillars of the PFS for Lake Hope – the proposed mine at the lake itself; the metallurgical process and associated planned 10,000 tonnes per annum process plant; and product development and marketing of final HPA products.
Impact Minerals finished the June quarter with a healthy bank balance as it checked boxes towards completing the Lake Hope PFS.
During the quarter Impact netted $3 million via a placement, mostly supported by major shareholders. In addition, $725,000 in funds were received from the exercise of listed options. A FY23 R&D rebate of $395,000 was received.
Write to Adam Orlando at Mining.com.au
Images: Impact Minerals
