Australian mining firm Andromeda Metals has sent its first commercial high-purity alumina (HPA) sample to a potential customer in Japan, the company said in an ASX announcement on 29 October.
The HPA was produced at Andromeda's continuous pilot plant using kaolin from its Great White project in South Australia. Samples produced at the plant reached a purity of up to 99.9989pc, according to the announcement.
The commercial sample was sent to a potential customer in Japan's high-tech manufacturing sector for evaluation as part of Andromeda's customer engagement programme. The company did not disclose the customer or the intended end use.
Andromeda plans to continue its pilot plant test programme through the October-December quarter and produce further commercial samples for prospective customers, according to the announcement.
Several Australian companies are producing or developing HPA as they seek to expand commercial-scale production.
Australian developer Alpha HPA has been producing HPA at its Stage One facility in Gladstone, Queensland, where output reached over 1,200 kg/week by October 2024, the company said. Alpha HPA is also constructing the second stage of its HPA First project in Gladstone, with first production scheduled for 2027.
Fellow developer Cadoux has produced 4N HPA at pilot scale in Western Australia (WA) and is developing a proposed 10,000 t/yr commercial HPA project.
Exploration firm Impact Minerals is also developing its 80pc-owned Lake Hope HPA project in WA, where a pilot plant is under construction and scheduled for installation and commissioning by 30 November, the company said on 26 October. Impact also owns 50pc of Alluminous, which operates a separate HPA pilot plant in Perth.
