Industrial Minerals (ASX:IND) is maintaining ongoing discussions with potential offtake partners regarding its Pippingarra Quarry Project in Western Australia.
Industrial, which has a $13.75 million market capitalisation, says discussions continue following assay results from late 2023 reverse circulation (RC) drilling flagged the presence of a wide quartz zone.
Planning for phase two drilling at Pippingarra has begun to further define these quartz bearing zones.
HPQ samples sent for testing to ‘prospective’ offtake partners demonstrate low impurity results from a simple flowsheet, with further samples sent to mineral processing specialists in Australia, China, and the US to determine HPQ potential.
Industrial Minerals has received numerous requests from end users and traders for samples of the quartz that is found at Pippingarra, both from past mining operations and from recent RC drilling completed at the eastern end of the open cut.
Managing Director Jeff Sweet says: “The confirmation of the wide zones of High Purity Quartz and the subsequent ongoing interest from our network of potential offtake partners is very pleasing. Furthermore, the initial testwork confirming low impurity HPQ from a simple flowsheet validates our early interest in the HPQ potential of Pippingarra.
While the RC drilling results have confirmed wide intersections of pegmatite to support historic results, the Li2O assays from our program have only returned narrow intersections.
The board is conscious of current lithium market conditions and will assess the wider exploration potential of its Pilbara tenement, while actively targeting near-term value for shareholders in pursuing supply to the growing HPQ market.”
Industrial Minerals is a critical minerals explorer and a developer of high purity silica sand (HPSS) and quartz. The company has HPSS and HPQ advanced projects in Western Australia positioned to supply the rapidly expanding solar PV industry.
The company holds 100% of 21 HPSS projects and 7 complementary Industrial Mineral projects across Western Australia and is focused on exploring and developing these projects.
Write to Adam Drought at Mining.com.au
Images: Industrial Minerals
