Impact Minerals (ASX:IPT) has been awarded a $2.87 million grant, in collaboration with CPC Engineering and the Mineral Recovery Research Centre, for pilot plant work on the Lake Hope Project in Western Australia.
The funding will go towards the commercialisation of the process to produce high-purity alumina (HPA) from the Lake Hope Project.
HPA — which is on the official critical minerals list in Australia, Europe, and North America — is considered a versatile material used in the technology and automotive industries. It is a pure, high-grade form of non-metallurgical aluminium oxide.
The grant, provided under the Australian Government’s Cooperative Research Centres Projects program, is part of an estimated $6.4 million research and development project which will be completed over three years.
Impact Minerals, which has a market capitalisation of $36.71 million, says the project is designed to provide the company with all the necessary information to complete a Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS).
A key component of the grant funding will be the construction of a pilot plant, aimed for 2025, which will provide consistent material for offtake and qualification trials.
Managing Director Dr Mike Jones says the funding underscores the national importance of the company’s work and enhances Impact’s capability to implement technologies that set new standards in sustainability and efficiency in the sector.
“We are immensely proud to drive this transformative project, which aligns with and advances Australia’s strategic interests in critical minerals,” Jones says.
“Being able to commence work on our pilot plant and the subsequent feasibility studies with the world-leading research of Edith Cowan University and the unique skills and experience of CPC Engineering will position Impact Minerals at the forefront of the global HPA market, ready to meet increasing demands with a sustainably produced, high-quality product.
“The project is scheduled to advance from initial trials to a definitive study phase swiftly, ensuring timely delivery of HPA and fertiliser samples to potential customers and partners. This grant together with contributions from the R&D rebate will ensure our next stage of work after the Prefeasibility Study (PFS) will be well funded.”
Impact Minerals has developed metallurgical processes to produce HPA and fertiliser by-products from the salts in Lake Hope, which will be mined and trucked to Kwinana for processing.
The company says the mining and processing will have a minimal environmental footprint, with no onsite beneficiation required.
It will also have only nominal long-term rehabilitation requirements and among the lowest scope one and scope two CO2 emissions of any HPA production process globally, according to Impact.
The federal government’s grant aims to foster high-quality research and development partnerships between the industry and research organisations.
At Edith Cowan University, the Mineral Recovery Research Centre is known for its membrane selective technology which is used to remove a wide variety of contaminants from reagents and water. The technology is well-established in water treatment and the centre is adapting the technology to the mining sector.
Impact says that the technology is a “game changer” for producing HPA and for cost-effective reagent regeneration and removal of contaminants in wastewater.
As a result, this will lead to lower energy costs, emissions, and operating costs for the project. It also adds to the overall small environmental footprint of the Lake Hope Project.
CPC Engineering is completing the engineering design studies and estimates of the operating and capital costs for the proposed 10,000-tonne-per-year HPA plant, as part of the PFS. The company will also design, build, and manage the pilot plant under the research program.
Impact Minerals is an explorer that has a portfolio of tenements spanning over 5,500km2. The company is focused on its Lake Hope Project, which covers 238km2 in southern Western Australia.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Impact Minerals
