Accelerate is jumping on the high purity alumina (HPA) bandwagon under an agreement that will still allow it to focus on its manganese and gold projects.
The company has executed a binding agreement to vend its Tambellup kaolin project in Western Australia for a 33% interest in Perth-based silica resource and technology development company Vytas Resources.
Accelerate Resources (ASX:AX8) and Vytas will work together to develop a new technology material company that will use the Tambellup project and the latter’s silica sand assets to become a supplier of HPA and high purity quartz (HPQ).
HPA demand is rising quickly due to its use as a coating for separators that keep apart lithium-ion battery cathode and anode electrodes to improve safety and performance. HPQ is used in solar panels.
“Bringing these assets together creates a unique HPA and HPQ opportunity,” managing director Yaxi Zhan said.
“The Vytas team has significant experience in kaolin and HPA, which will fast-track and add value to the Tambellup Kaolin project for Accelerate shareholders. This will also give shareholders exposure to technology materials being developed in-house by the Vytas team.
“This will allow Accelerate to focus on execution of the high-grade manganese strategy and developing its WA gold projects.”
The company will work with Vytas to advance the projects as part of a listing planned for early 2022.
HPA and HPQ
Both HPA and HPQ are included in the CSIRO’s Critical Energy Minerals Roadmap.
The global HPA market was valued by Allied Market Research at US$1.3bn in 2019 and is expected to reach US$4.8bn by 2026, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 20.7% from 2020 to 2026.
Likewise, the global HPQ market is also growing rapidly with Research and Markets forecasting that it will grow from US$671.62m in 2019 to US$1.2bn by 2027, a CAGR of 7.9%.
Kaolin from the Tambellup project will be the feedstock for the HPA process, producing silica as the primary by-product.
Vytas plans to upgrade the silica to form HPQ, repurposing this waste stream to improve the project economics.
Work will focus on establishing a JORC resource from the currently defined mineralisation while further targeted metallurgical test work will be carried out to consolidate this position while progressing product quality opportunities and offtake agreements.
This article was developed in collaboration with Accelerate Resources, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.
This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.