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Alpha HPA (ASX:A4N) reaches testing and production milestones

Mining
ASX:A4N      MCAP $943.1M
20 June 2020 04:00 (AEST)
Alpha HPA (ASX:A4N) - Managing Director, Rimas Kairaitis

Source: Finance News Network

Alpha HPA (A4N) has surpassed important production and testing milestones as it progresses its HPA First project.

High-purity product

The production of high-purity alumina (HPA) to alpha-alumina standards is no mean feat. The 100 per cent pure product requires incredible precision to manufacture.

A4N’s proprietary production process has achieved 99.998 per cent purity in a demonstration-scale trial, which the company says “builds confidence that purity levels will continue to improve with increased process volumes and scale.”

As the company prepares for the full demonstration-scale operation, testing of the solvent extraction circuit at double the previous flow rate has twice been successful.

These results bode well for upscaled production at the company’s pilot plant, which is gearing up to supply samples to offtakers for testing.

Supply pipelines

The company’s market outreach programs have been bearing fruit.

A4N has received its first sample order from a Taiwan-based sapphire glass manufacturer, complementing previous orders from U.S. and Korean sapphire glass and LED producers.

Alpha HPA’s product has also passed muster in phase one testing by a U.S.-based manufacturer of alumina-coated separators for the lithium-ion battery market.

The company continues its commercial outreach programs in the hope of securing offtake agreements which will underpin the scaling-up of the pilot plant.

Next steps

Alpha HPA seems to be gathering speed.

The appointment of new Chief Operating Officer, Rob Williamson, will bring 20 years of high-end engineering and operational experience to the company’s projects.

Managing Director Rimas Kairaitis says the company is well-placed to attain further milestones.

“Alpha HPA continues to build momentum for the HPA First project, with strong progress towards our demonstration-scale production run, continued market interest in the company’s products and the key addition of Rob Williamson to the Alpha HPA team,” Rimas said.

The company will continue progressing its production processes and marketing as it moves towards full commercialisation.

Alpha HPA closed Friday’s session 6.9 per cent higher at 15.5 cents per share.

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