Corella proves ability to produce ultra-pure 5N HPA from Tampu mineralisation

Corella produces 5N HPA from a 100kg composite sample collected across the Tampu deposit
Work was carried out to optimise the HPA flowsheet
Company now working to confirm flowsheet for the cost of a pilot plant

Special Report: Corella Resources has successfully produced 5N (99.999% purity) high purity alumina from a 100kg composite sample obtained from across the Tampu deposit in WA’s Wheatbelt region.

Tampu has a kaolin resource of 24.7Mt, with 12.2Mt of screened (-45micron) product suitable for sale as kaolin and as a feedstock for high-purity alumina (HPA).

This is potentially very lucrative for Corella Resources (ASX:CR9) given that HPA is used in high-tech applications such as smartphones, LEDs and lithium-ion batteries with the benchmark 4N (99.99% purity) HPA commanding prices of between US$15,000/t to US$25,000/t.

More interestingly, initial test work has already proven that Tampu mineralisation can be used to produce 5N HPA suitable for the battery and LED sectors.

A scoping study has also identified two development scenarios – a 200,000tpa kaolin production scenario that could generate NPV of $1.18bn and whopping IRR of 78.8% along with a 40,000tpa HPA option with estimated NPV and IRR of $4.62bn and 53.8% respectively.

5N HPA production confirmed

CR9 has now confirmed that it can produce 5N HPA from Tampu after doing so from a 100kg composite sample consolidated from the sonic core program obtained from across the deposit.

This process was designed to optimise the HPA flowsheet and assess the range of feed grade versus HPA grade as well as temperature parameters.

It also underscored the technical proficiency and effectiveness of the company’s testing methodologies.

“The confirmation of 5N HPA production from our large composite sample represents a significant milestone for Corella,” chief executive officer Jess Maddren said.

“We are encouraged by the results achieved through our collaboration with Dalian University of Technology and the validation from independent laboratories. This success paves the way for further advancements as we progress towards establishing ourselves as a prominent player in the HPA market.”