- Andromeda Metals (ADN) has begun a 1400 metre aircore drilling program at its Mount Hope Halloysite-Kaolin Prospect in South Australia
- The aim of the drilling is to obtain new material to undertake testwork and determine a new mineral resource estimate
- The previous estimate from 1973 was not reported in accordance with the JORC code, so Andromeda has not yet completed work to verify it
- Andromeda is continuing with the Poochera pre-feasibility study, which is planned for release between late April and early May
- Company shares are up 3.85 per cent on the market, trading for 2.7 cents each
Andromeda Metals (ADN) has begun drilling at its Mount Hope Halloysite-Kaolin Prospect in South Australia.
The aim of this 1400-metre aircore drilling program is to obtain new material and undertake test work to determine the suitability of drilling applications.
Drilling will also verify the central portion of the historic kaolin resource in order to estimate a revised mineral resource that is compliant with the JORC 2012 code.
The current historic resource estimate sits at 12.26 million tonnes, which was outlined by Abaleen Minerals NL in 1973.
However, this resource is not reported in accordance with the JORC code, and Andromeda has not yet completed the work to verify this estimate.
Mount Hope, which covers 227 square kilometres, is located roughly 80 kilometres northwest of Port Lincoln in South Australia.
Subsequent mineralogical analysis by the South Australian Department of Mines and Energy in 1989 showed the presence of a significant amount of halloysite-kaolin.
Halloysite (an aluminosilicate clay material) is a rare derivate of kaolin (a clay mineral) which occurs as nanotubes.
The tubes are formed by weathering of the plate-like kaolin particles that cause them to roll up and leach out impurities.
The main use of halloysite is in ceramics, where it is used to manufacture high-quality porcelain by adding a white colouring, transparency and strength.
Andromeda is continuing with works on the Poochera pre-feasibility study, which is planned for released between late April and early May.
Company shares are up 3.85 per cent in mid-morning trade, trading for 2.7 cents each at 11:25 am AEDT.