- Perpetual Resources (PEC) on track to complete bulk sampling program this week targeting multiple sand zones within the Beharra silica sands project south of Geraldton in Western Australia
- A total of four separate bulk samples have been prepared, representing a total of about four tonnes of drill sample that will undergo metallurgical test work
- The company believes the test work has the potential to position it as a leading new supply source of silica sand
- Perpetual says it is targeting high-growth Asia-Pacific silica sand markets, where independent market assessments have calculated a 40 million tonnes per annum incremental market growth opportunity through to 2026
- Shares have been in the grey at 6.3 cents
Perpetual Resources (PEC) is set to wrap up a bulk sampling program targeting multiple sand zones within its Beharra silica sands project about 96 kilometres south of Geraldton in Western Australia.
The company said the program, scheduled for completion this week, involved the preparation of four separate bulk samples – totalling about one tonne of drill sample per zone – for metallurgical test work.
The bulk representative samples were extracted from the identified geological sub-domains made up of the yellow sand, upper white sand, lower white sand grey sand horizons.
Perpetual said the aim of the bulk metallurgical test program was to determine the chemical composition and end-product specifications from the various zones identified within the Beharra white sand sequence.
Previous analysis of drill data pointed to a potentially low-impurity horizon that may be amenable to selective mining and processing to produce a high-quality end product for the high-value ultra-clear glass markets in Asia.
The bulk samples were prepared for proposed white sand only testing and to provide representative samples from all geological domains for particle size distribution analyses.
Perpetual said confirmation of a low-impurity horizon from the forthcoming test work has the potential to position it as a leading new supply source for the growing Asian low-impurity silica sand markets.
Independent market assessments have calculated a 40 million tonnes per annum growth opportunity in the Asia-Pacific silica sands markets through to 2026, according to the company.
PEC shares were up 4.76 per cent to 6.6 cents at 3:48 pm AEDT.