- King River Resources (KRR) completes a pre-feasibility study (PFS) for its high-purity alumina (HPA) alumina project in Western Australia
- The project will produce 9000 tonnes of highly-demanded HPA product at a purity of at least 99.99 per cent
- The study outlines some robust economics including an earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation of $193 million and an annual pre-tax free cashflow of $190 million
- Now the PFS is completed, King River will undertake a definitive feasibility study ahead of transitioning to production
- Company shares are up 3.13 per cent and are trading at 3.3 cents
King River Resources (KRR) has completed a pre-feasibility study (PFS) for its high-purity alumina (HPA) alumina project.
The HPA project is owned by the company’s wholly owned subsidiary, ARC Specialty Metals, and will be located in the Kwinana industrial area of Western Australia.
The HPA project will utilise King River’s ARC process to produce 4N HPA, a crystalline white powder which is almost pure aluminium oxide and made from an industrial chemical feedstock.
Positively, the PFS outlines KRR’s potential to be a global producer of high-value HPA which is an essential ingredient to produce light emitting diodes (LEDs) and lithium-ion battery separators — both of which are used in clean energy and high-technology applications, such as lighting and electric vehicles (EV).
The LED and EV markets are expected to grow significantly over the next few years with the key driver being 4N HPA.
“The completion of the Kwinana HPA PFS is an important milestone for King River Resources and confirms the project is getting well positioned to become a global HPA participant,” Chairman Anthony Barton said.
As outlined in the study, the project will produce 9000 tonnes of HPA at a 4N purity which means greater than 99.99 per cent.
The PFS also highlighted robust economics including an annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation of $193 million, an annual pre-tax free cashflow of $190 million and a 2.2 year post-tax payback from when production begins.
In addition, the project has competitive capital and production costs including a pre-production capital cost of $203.4 million and a production cost of $8987 per tonne of HPA. The company believes the capital cost is a competitive estimate due to the relatively simple purification process.
“These very positive study outcomes support the Kwinana Project’s transition immediately towards a more detailed definitive feasibility study,” Mr Barton added.
The company is continuing to examine necessary project approvals and will be exploring funding options to take the project forward to production.
King River Resources’ shares were up 3.13 per cent and were trading at 3.3 cents at 11:20 am AEST.