Emerging mineral processing technology firm Zeotech (ASX:ZEO) has proven its high-performance metakaolin for use in low-carbon concrete can be deployed at a commercial scale.
The company has poured about 100m3, the equivalent of 17 truckloads, using 8 tonnes of its AusPozz™ product, which produces 79% less carbon emissions than ordinary Portland cement.
The AusPozz™ product has demonstrated the ability to enhance strength development and therefore reduce the total cementitious content of the concrete, which not only reduces embodied carbon, but also the overall cost per cubic metre.
The demonstration pour was held at the RAW Skips recycling yard in Queensland. RAW Skips is an Indigenous owned recycling and waste management company specialising in construction and demolition waste.
The newly poured slab is located adjacent to a weighbridge facility, a high-traffic area subject to heavy vehicle loads and high abrasion, with more than 250 truck movements per day.
CEO James Marsh says the commercial-scale pour represents Zeotech’s most significant demonstration of AusPozz™ and a pivotal milestone on the company’s journey to contribute to the decarbonisation of the built environment sustainably.
“The successful deployment of AusPozz™ at scale confirms its compatibility with commercial concrete operations, while highlighting its ability to meaningfully reduce embodied carbon,” he says.
“Importantly, AusPozz™ has also demonstrated the potential to lower costs by reducing the total binder required to achieve performance specifications – a compelling value proposition for broad industry adoption.”
Zeotech has now demonstrated that AusPozz™ is compatible with batching plants, transportation methods, pumping systems, and placement techniques – meaning it can seamlessly integrate into the concrete supply chain.
The event was witnessed by over 35 key players in the construction and materials sectors.
This included representatives from Holcim Australia, Cement Australia, The National Transport Research Organisation, Queensland Transport and Main Roads, Boral, Amazon, GHD, Laing O’Rourke and Icubed Consulting, among others.
Business Development Manager – Concrete Peter Tutbury says the commercial pour exceeded expectations and validated the AusPozz™ product’s performance in real-world conditions.
“Contractors praised the mix for its ease of placement, screeding, and finishing, noting that while some cementitious blends can react differently with tools or metal, these loads behaved exactly as concrete should,” he says.
Zeotech completed the pour in the requested three-hour timeframe and in line with the Queensland Government’s pavement specifications.
“Across 17 truckloads, more than 100m³ was placed over nearly 500m², with no cracking observed after 72 hours,” Tutbury notes.
“The overwhelmingly positive feedback, combined with the opportunity to monitor long-term performance at a high-traffic site with over 250 daily truck movements, will provide valuable ongoing data and a strong foundation to support pathways for broader deployment of AusPozz™.”
The trial has unlocked new opportunities for Zeotech including a proposed 200m³ trial, a windfarm mix design with 50% cement replacement and a potential memorandum of understanding with a global engineering and construction company.
It also assists in progressing discussions on potential offtake agreements.
Zeotech recently inked a binding term sheet worth nearly $200 million with China-based Jiangsu Mineral Sources International Trading Co (MSI) – one of the world’s largest traders of kaolin – for 950,000 tonnes of direct shipping ore (DSO) kaolin products over five years.
DSO describes minerals that can be dug up, transported to port, and loaded straight onto a ship without the need for processing.
Zeotech says its Toondoon Kaolin Deposit is confirmed to be of “ultra-high purity”, with a kaolinite content of over 90% in the ore clays, making it ideal for kaolin DSO, cosmetic kaolin DSO and economic AusPozz™ production.
Progress so far has seen Pitt Street Research place a bullish top end share price valuation of $0.42 on the company. That is well over four times the current share price of $0.09. The firm’s base case valuation is $0.30, which is still three times the current share price.
Pitt Street’s modelling of the AusPozz™ opportunity places the net present value (NPV) at $559.4 million for the base case and $789.6 million for the bull case.
“Both these figures are significant premiums to the $406 million NPV found in the 2025 Prefeasibility Study – 38% in our base case and 94% in our bull case,” Pitt Street says.
“We think a re-rating to this level (100% of NPV) is plausible as the company edges closer to production.”
Samples of the AusPozz™ concrete were taken throughout the demonstration and will be tested by independent experts.
Zeotech is now evaluating a range of opportunities that emerged following the commercial-scale pour.
Write to Angela East at Mining.com.au
Images: Zeotech
