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A Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) is now underway at Impact Minerals Limited’s (ASX: IPT) advanced Lake Hope High Purity Alumina (HPA) Project in Western Australia.
The Project, in which Impact is earning an 80% interest, offers the Company the opportunity to become a low-cost entrant into the HPA chemical market, a high-margin business forecast to grow strongly over the next decade (ASX Release March 21st 2023).
Lake Hope contains a globally unique deposit of high-grade aluminium clay minerals in the top few metres of a playa salt lake, which has unique physical and chemical properties that will allow for low- cost mining and offsite metallurgical processing via a novel and cost-disruptive acid leaching process.
Preliminary economic studies indicate that the production of HPA and related products from Lake Hope will be cost-competitive with current producers and other developers in Australia and globally (ASX Release March 21st 2023).
Impact has appointed the following experienced companies to undertake the work programs for the PFS, which will be completed over the next 12 to 18 months, as well as the work required to lodge a Mining Lease Application in early Quarter 3 this year:
Maiden Resource Estimation: H and S Consultants, Brisbane. H and S are well-known resource estimation specialists with specific experience in resource calculations for deposits in Western Australian playa lakes.
Environmental and Approvals Process Consultants: Biota Environmental Services, Perth. Biota will complete flora and fauna surveys and also help coordinate the approvals process for the Mining Lease Application.
Metallurgical Consultants: Strategic Metallurgy, Perth. Strategic will help oversee and manage the optimisation test work programme for the novel acid leach process, which is currently already underway at ALS Laboratories in Perth. Strategic will also complete process flow sheet design and preliminary engineering studies.
Mining Studies: The Mining Engineer Mine Consulting (TME). TME will complete initial mine optimization studies for Lake Hope, which will likely be mined on a campaign basis every few years.
Financial Modelling: Platek Analytics. Platek Analytics will review Impact’s internal economic model for both the PFS and a Scoping Study, which will be released following the completion of the Mineral Resource Estimate.
The entire PFS will be managed by Roland Gotthard, who discovered the Lake Hope Project and has now joined Impact as Project Manager.
Impact's Managing Director, Dr Mike Jones, said: “We have hit the ground running since announcing the transformational joint venture at Lake Hope. At short notice, we have assembled a first-class team of consultants to complete the Pre-Feasibility Study work programs over the next 12 to 18 months and drive us towards production. In addition, this work will allow us to release a Maiden Resource and an initial Scoping Study over the next two months, as well as lodge a Mining Lease application in the third Quarter of this year. We have never been busier as we become the next "playa” in HPA.”
About the Lake Hope Project
The Lake Hope Project covers numerous prospective salt lakes between Hyden and Norseman in southern Western Australia, a Tier One jurisdiction (Figure 1). It comprises one granted exploration licence (E63/2086), covering the Lake Hope deposit already discovered, together with five further exploration licence applications (ELA63/2317, 2318 and 2319, and ELA74/673 and 764) which are poorly explored. The tenements cover about 238 km2 and are all 100% owned by Playa One.
Figure 1. Location of Playa One tenements with options for trucking and off-site processing.
Geology
The salt lakes of Western Australia are well known for their unique and complex hydrogeochemistry, which has led to the formation of a wide variety of economic minerals and brines within the playa systems. These include the world-class Yeelirrie uranium deposit (>100 Mlb U3O8), significant potash brines, gypsum and lime-sand resources.
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Impact Minerals, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
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Impact Minerals Limited
Overview
Impact Minerals (ASX:IPT) is an exploration and development mining company focusing on discovering and developing new resource projects within Australia. Lake Hope, a recent transformational acquisition by the company and its current flagship asset, is a high-purity alumina (HPA) project in Impact’s home territory of Western Australia, a tier-one jurisdiction. This advanced-stage project allows the company to fast-track the asset toward development and puts the company firmly on the road to production and increasing shareholder value.
HPA is a high-value product with various uses in several industries that are key to the transition to a low-carbon world. Its main uses are in LED lighting, micro-LED screens, and ceramic-coated separators in lithium-ion batteries. Both these markets are forecast to grow dramatically over the next decade, and a looming supply shortage is predicted for 2026. HPA is also necessary for producing synthetic sapphire and scratch-resistant glass. With these ever-widening applications for HPA, demand for this resource is expected to reach $4.79 billion in 2027 at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.4 percent
Lake Hope is the company’s current focus as it moves towards production, and where a very shallow, high-grade resource of HPA precursor material has been identified in the top two meters of a dry salt lake. The deposit has unique physical and chemical properties that will allow for inexpensive digging and mining, with transportation to a processing facility off-site in an established industrial area, enabling the acceleration of production.
Impact is currently focused on lodging a Mining Lease Application. The company aims to bring Lake Hope, which contains almost 1 million tonnes of potential HPA, into production when the forecast average price for 4N HPA (99.99 percent AL203) and related products is about US$20,000 per tonne. The ‘4N’ designation indicates the purity grade, making it suitable for high-tech end uses.
In June 2023, Impact announced a maiden mineral resource estimate (MRE) of 3.5 million tonnes at 25.1 percent alumina (Al2O3) for a contained 880,000 tonnes of alumina. The company also received heritage clearances for the entire Lake Hope deposit further de-risking the project and providing another critical component in the company’s application for a mining lease.
Impact released the results of a scoping study based on realistic production and capital expenditure estimates for the company’s Lake Hope High Purity Alumina (HPA) Project. The study indicated Lake Hope's potential to be one of, if not the lowest-cost producer of HPA globally, possibly by a significant margin of up to 50 percent.
The company received a significant research and development refund of $753,000 from its exploration activities completed in the financial year ending June 30th, 2022. The refund brought Impact’s cash balance to more than $4 million after a successful capital raising which was strongly supported by the company’s two major German shareholders. The company is well funded to finance the pre-feasibility study at the Lake Hope High Purity Alumina project and exploration activities at the Arkun battery minerals project.
Impact Minerals was also one of the inaugural cohort of seven companies selected to be part of the prestigious BHP Xplor program. BHP Xplor, an accelerator program introduced by BHP in August 2022, is designed to help provide participants with the opportunity to accelerate their growth and the potential to establish a long-term partnership with BHP and its global network of partners.
In addition to funding, the BHP Xplor program allows Impact to gain access to a network of internal and external experts to help guide development in the company's technical, business and operational aspects.
The BHP Xplor funding has been used to identify new target areas for copper and other energy metals around the Broken Hill area in New South Wales, eastern Australia, where Impact has been quietly adding to its ground position for several years.
Additionally, the company is exploring its large Arkun battery metals project, also in Western Australia. The company has completed a significant exploration campaign at its Arkun project, reporting encouraging results of nickel, copper, PGMs and lithium-caesium-tantalum. Targets are currently being defined with the aim of drill testing in early 2024.
“In trying to reduce the risk, it’s the case nowadays where you need to take a scientific approach to what you’re doing. One of the big changes in the industry over the past ten years is that it’s now a lot easier and cheaper to generate a great amount of data. So, we’ve been recognized for our technical excellence,” said Dr. Mike Jones, Managing Director at Impact Minerals, in an interview.
A strong management team with over 50 years of combined industry experience leads the company. With a mining and exploration geology degree, Jones launched a long career consulting and leading mining organizations. Peter Unsworth, the non-executive chairman, has more than 35 years of experience in multiple financial sectors, such as securities industries and wealth management. Paul Ingram, a non-executive director, has led several mining companies since 2003. Impact Minerals has the experience and expertise to lead the company to success.
Company Highlights
- Impact Minerals is an exploration and development mining company focused on rapidly moving its flagship Lake Hope high-purity alumina (HPA) project towards production.
- Lake Hope project has a high-grade maiden mineral resource estimate (MRE) of 3.5 million tonnes at 25.1 percent alumina (Al2O3) for a contained 880,000 tonnes of alumina which can be converted to HPA.
- HPA is used throughout multiple industries, and the overall HPA market is projected to grow by a CAGR of 18.4 percent by 2027.
- A Pre-Feasibility Study is currently in progress and Impact plans to lodge a Mining Lease Application after results of its scoping study indicated how the Lake Hope Project could potentially be one of, if not the lowest-cost producer of HPA globally, possibly by a significant margin of up to 50 percent.
- The company’s project portfolio also includes assets with high-grade mineral deposits of a range of base, critical and precious metals.
- Impact Mineral’s 2,000-square-mile Arkun nickel-copper-PGE project in Western Australia has produced encouraging assays motivating further exploration.
- The company is also exploring its Broken Hill copper project in New South Wales under the auspices of the BHP Xplor program.
- A strong management team leads the company with experience in geology, mining and corporate finance.
Key Projects
Lake Hope HPA Project
Impact Minerals’ Lake Hope HPA project is in Western Australia, a tier-one mining jurisdiction. HPA is a crucial component in many new and emerging technologies, creating ongoing demand for high-grade sources. The Lake Hope project has become the company’s flagship as it moves toward production.
Project Highlights:
- Maiden Mineral Resource Estimate: A maiden mineral resource of 3.5 million tonnes at 25.1 percent alumina (Al2O3) for a contained 880,000 tonnes of alumina has been defined at the Lake Hope HPA Project. About 88 percent of the resource, or 775,000 tonnes of alumina, is in the higher confidence indicated resource category.
- Amenable to Open-pit Mining: The Lake Hope project is a unique HPA asset amenable to shallow, open-pit mining. The deposit is soft and shallow, allowing for cheap digging and minimal infrastructure requirements. This type of deposit also lowers the environmental footprint of the operation.
- Fast-tracked to Production: The company is currently awaiting its Mining Lease Application. Once granted, the company will begin working towards a pre-feasibility study and mini pilot plant. Impact Minerals plans to reach a complete pilot plant by 2026.
- Impressive Results of the 2023 Scoping Study: Outstanding economics show Lake Hope to potentially be the lowest-cost producer of High Purity Alumina (HPA) globally by up to 50 percent. Key outcomes from the scoping study include:
- Annual production of 10,000 tpa of 4N HPA with an initial 25-year mine life
- Annual EBITDA of US$17 million and annual revenue of US$258 million
- 2 years construction period with 5,000 tonnes of production during the first year, 8,000 tonnes in the second year and 10,000 tonnes of production thereafter.
- US$934 million post-tax NPV8 at an IRR of 55 percent.
Broken Hill Copper Project
The Broken Hill project has a significant land position of 815 square kilometers and hosts multiple targets with the potential for high-grade copper. Broken Hill is located in New South Wales, Australia, an area known for its prolific silver-lead-zinc mining operations and the giant Broken Hill deposit.
Project Highlights:
- Participant in the BHP Xplor Program: Impact was selected for the BHP Xplor program based on its Broken Hill project. The program is designed to allow participants to accelerate growth and establish a long-term partnership with BHP.
- Potential for Additional Minerals and Deposits: As well as copper, the project has significant exploration potential for magmatic nickel-copper-PGE sulphides, and at the time the host rocks were formed, Broken Hill was located close to the world-class nickel-copper-PGE deposit of Jinchuan and the significant Lengquisheng deposit. The project area also has the potential to contain zinc-lead-silver deposits, providing even more value.
Arkun Nickel-Copper-Gold-Lithium-REE Project
The Arkun project is a 2,000-square-kilometer nickel, copper and gold project located in the emerging Ni-Cu-PGE province near the world-class Julimar Ni-Cu-PGE deposit and surrounded by Anglo American Corporation, which secured its ground holding shortly after Impact secured its asset. Anglo-American is one of the world’s top ten mining companies, and their presence in the region brings confidence in the project’s potential.
Project Highlights:
- Additional Exploration Underway: Impact plans follow-up work programs, including drilling, at its priority targets.
- Encouraging Targets: Impact Minerals’ early geochemical survey campaigns indicated the presence of nickel, copper and gold anomalies, as well as lithium and rare earth element anomalies throughout the project area, which has never been explored before.
Management Team
Peter Unsworth - Non-executive Chairman
Peter Unsworth, formerly a chartered accountant, has over 35 years of experience in the corporate finance, investment and securities industries and a wealth of management experience with public and private companies. A former executive director with a leading Western Australian stockbroking company, Unsworth has been a director of several public exploration and mining companies. He recently completed a long time serving as chairman of the Western Australian Government-owned Gold Corporation (operator of The Perth Mint). Unsworth is the founding chairman of Impact Minerals.
Dr. Mike Jones - Managing Director
Dr. Mike Jones is the founding managing director of Impact Minerals Limited, which was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in November 2006. Reporting to the board of directors, he is responsible for the company's performance as it moves towards production at its Lake Hope High Purity Alumina Project and also for implementing strategies to explore and maximize the value of the company's other extensive tenement holdings.
Since listing, he has helped raise more than $60 million to help fund the exploration of Impact’s projects and managed the company through significant adverse events, including the global financial crisis and the Fukushima nuclear disaster, which affected Impact’s considerable investment in the uranium sector, a five-year global downturn in the mining sector and more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic.
Paul Ingram - Non-executive Director
Paul Ingram is a geologist with extensive experience managing major mineral exploration programs for several publicly listed companies and has been involved in the mining sector for over thirty years. He has designed and implemented innovative techniques for exploration in remote areas and has managed projects in countries throughout Australia and East Asia. Ingram has been a director of the following listed companies in the past three years:
Dr Frank Bierlein - Non-executive Director
Dr. Frank Bierlein is a geologist with 30 years of experience as a consultant, researcher, lecturer and industry professional. Bierlein has held exploration and generative geology management positions with QMSD Mining Co Ltd, Qatar Mining, Afmeco Australia and Areva NC, and consulted for, among others, Newmont Gold, Resolute Mining, Goldfields International, Freeport McMoRan, and the International Atomic Energy Agency. He is currently a non-executive director of PNX Metals Ltd. He was previously a non-executive director of Gold Australia NL and chaired the advisory board of a Luxembourg-based private equity fund between 2014 and 2021.
Bernard Crawford - Company Secretary
Bernard Crawford is a finance and governance professional with over 25 years of experience in the resources industry in Australia and overseas. He has held various finance, governance and management positions with NYSE, TSX and ASX-listed companies. Crawford holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Western Australia and a Master of Business Administration from London Business School. He is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and the Governance Institute of Australia.
Exclusivity for Las Alteras Acquisition
- Norfolk signs exclusivity agreement with Green Shift Commodities Ltd (TSXV GCOM) to acquire Las Alteras uranium project located in Argentina
- Las Alteras uranium project surrounded by non-JORC foreign estimates* at URAmerica’s Meseta Central deposit (19.1Mlbs eU308¹), CNEA’s Cerro Solo deposit (11.49Mlbs U308²), ISO Energy’s Laguna Salada deposit (10.1Mlbs U308³) along with the Cerro Condor and Los Adobes historical uranium mines
- Norfolk receives firm commitments for a strategic placement of A$415,746 via ASX Listing Rule 7.1 capacity
- Additional funding to assist in expediting due-diligence on Las Alteras and exploration planning on the Company’s projects
- Strong cash position of A$3.49m as at 31 December 2023
- Norfolk continues to review complementary projects as the Company looks to expand uranium project suite
- Norfolk to conduct executive search for additional Key Management Personal to progress Australia and Argentina uranium exploration projects
Figure 1: Location map of Las Alteras uranium project
Commenting on Norfolk Metals, Executive Chairman, Ben Phillips, states:
“Norfolk has secured an exceptional opportunity in Argentina where we expect to see strong increase in positive sentiment from government, uranium explorers and investors throughout 2024. Las Alteras is surrounded by multiple uranium deposits to the east, west and south with historical mines located to the north and south. We are currently reviewing the historical drill information boarding the eastern block of Las Alteras where uranium has been delineated in the same structures as the flagship Cerro Solo deposit. This uranium trend is increasing as the holes approach Las Alteras ground making this area one of several priorities of our focus.”
Las Alteras Exclusivity
Las Alteras uranium project is surrounded by non-JORC foreign estimates* at URAmerica’s Meseta Central deposit (19.1Mlbs eU308¹), CNEA’s Cerro Solo deposit (11.49Mlbs U308²), ISO Energy’s Laguna Salada deposit (10.1Mlbs U308³) along with the Cerro Condor and Los Adobes historical uranium mines. AlterasAs the uranium market continues to evolve globally it is Norfolk’s view that the Chubut region of the San Jorge Basin hosting the renowned government owned Cerro Solo deposit presents an exceptional opportunity to diversify and grow the Company. The addition of the Las Alteras project suite will allow Norfolk to progress the appointment of Key Management Personnel and advisors.
Please see the Company presentation regarding the Las Alteras uranium project released today on the ASX on the 18th of April 2024.
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Norfolk Metals, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
Drilling Underway at Trafalgar High-Grade Gold Prospect
Highlights
- Phase 3 drilling has commenced at Trafalgar high-grade gold prospect
- Previously reported drilling included multiple intersections grading >100g/t Au, including:
- TFD001:
- 5.0m @ 12.56g/t Au, incl. 0.4m @ 150.0g/t Au from 202.0m
- TFDD003:
- 1.2m @ 65.9g/t Au, incl. 0.5m @ 143.0g/t Au from 57.5m
- TFDD005:
- 12.3m @ 16.8g/t Au, incl. 0.7m @ 152.5g/t Au from 120.3m
- TFDD013:
- 4.0m @ 23.7g/t Au, incl. 0.5m @ 169.8g/t Au from 25.9m
- TFD001:
- New geological vein model for Trafalgar indicates multiple sub- parallel high-grade veins
- An initial 1,500m drill program is planned that will comprise infill and extension drilling targeting down-dip and along-strike extensions to previous high-grade gold intercepts
- For further information or to post questions go to the Flynn Gold Investor Hub at https://investorhub.flynngold.com.au/link/DP4MXy
Geological modelling of the multiple high-grade veins intersected in drilling at the Trafalgar Prospect in 2022/23 has been completed. The next phase of diamond drilling (Phase 3) has commenced to test in-fill and extensional drilling targets generated from the new geological model.
Managing Director and CEO, Neil Marston commented,
“Since the completion of drilling at the Trafalgar prospect at Golden Ridge in 2023, Flynn Gold has been undertaking geological modelling of the high-grade gold intersected in multiple vein sets.
“This modelling work, in combination with our recent soil sampling activities, demonstrates the potential for extensive gold mineralisation at Golden Ridge.
“Based on the latest information we have designed a program of drill holes with the goal being to target down-dip and along-strike extensions to previous high-grade gold intercepts.
“As gold prices hit record highs, it’s an exciting time for our team to be drilling this new Tasmanian gold discovery.”
Figure 1 - Location of Flynn Gold tenements in NE Tasmania.
Trafalgar Prospect – Geological Vein Model
A 3D geological vein model was recently completed for the Trafalgar prospect. The model interprets 3 main gold mineralised veins, accompanied by a network of subsidiary mineralised splay veins and sheeted vein swarms bifurcating off the main veins (see Figure 2).
All of the main mineralised veins transect the granodiorite – hornfelsed metasediments contact, with gold mineralisation hosted in both the granodiorite and metasediment host rocks.
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Flynn Gold, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
Impact Minerals Limited Investor Kit
- Corporate info
- Insights
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- Upcoming projects