- Impact Minerals (IPT) delivers a maiden MRE for its flagship Lake Hope HPA project in Western Australia
- The MRE reads 3.5 million tonnes at 25 per cent alumina for a contained 880,000 tonnes of alumina
- Around 775,000 tonnes, or 88 per cent, of alumina, is in the higher confidence indicated resource category
- Impact Minerals’ MRE gives it the assurance that Lake Hope will deliver high-margin, high-end products into a fast-growing global market
- Shares are up 7.69 per cent and trading at 1.4 cents at 2:29 pm AEST
Impact Minerals (IPT) has delivered a maiden mineral resource estimate (MRE) for its flagship Lake Hope HPA project in Western Australia.
The MRE reads 3.5 million tonnes at 25.1 per cent alumina for a contained 880,000 tonnes of alumina.
IPT Managing Director Dr Mike Jones said the maiden MRE underpins the company’s quest to become one of the world’s lowest-cost producers of high-purity alumina.
“This unique resource could provide multi-decade delivery of a mineral product recently added to Australia’s critical mineral list,” he said.
Impact Minerals reported that 88 per cent of the resource, or about 775,000 tonnes of alumina, is in the higher confidence indicated resource category.
The company hopes to bring Lake Hope into production, delivering high-margin end products into a fast-growing global market, with current prices for benchmark 4N HPA at about US$20,000 (A$29,000) per tonne.
It believes the unique nature of its deposit will allow for a shallow, very low-cost, free-digging operation at only one to two metres deep. Testing and metallurgical processing would also be conducted offsite at an established industrial site.
Impact Minerals expects the project will have low carbon emissions and a small impact on the environment, with the Ngadju First Nations group set to commence a heritage survey in June or early July.
IPT shares jumped 7.69 per cent to 1.4 cents at 2:29 pm AEST.