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A significant milestone on Impact Minerals Limited’s journey to producing High Purity Alumina (HPA) has been achieved with the receipt of heritage clearances across the entire Lake Hope alumina deposit, located 500 km east of Perth in Western Australia (Figure 1).
- Heritage survey completed with the Ngadju Native Title group at the Lake Hope High Purity Alumina Project, Western Australia, in compliance with the new Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act. The survey has provided clearance for ground-disturbing activities over the entire Lake Hope deposit and nearby access tracks.
- The clearance significantly de-risks the Lake Hope project and is a critical component of the work required to lodge a Mining Lease Application, planned for later this Quarter.
- A Scoping Study for the project is being finalised, with metallurgical test work and other studies for the Pre-Feasibility Study underway.
Impact’s Managing Director, Dr Mike Jones, said, “Impact Minerals acknowledges and would like to thank the Ngadju Native Title Holders and elder’s past, present and emerging, for organising and participating in the survey, and we look forward to continuing to work effectively with them in the future. This positive outcome represents another step forward on the pathway to the production of High Purity Alumina, which presents a compelling opportunity for Impact Minerals’ shareholders and the broader community of the Ngadju native title holders. The heritage clearance, together with our recently announced maiden Indicated and Inferred Resource of 880,000 tonnes of contained alumina, has significantly de-risked the mining aspect of the project and will allow us to progress with our Mining Lease application later this Quarter confidently”.
As well as the Ngadju Native Title Holders Impact would also like to thank John Cecchi Heritage Management Consultancy for completing the survey efficiently and safely (Figure 2).
The survey, which comprised both an archaeological field survey and ethnographic consultation with authoritative knowledge holders from the Ngadju Native Title Party, covered the entire Lake Hope alumina resource, which is hosted within two small salt lakes, as well as access tracks to the lake, a water monitoring bore and campsite infrastructure (Figure 3 and ASX Release 19th June 2023).
The work area was assessed as having no Aboriginal artefacts or cultural heritage concerns, which ground- disturbing activities would impact. Under the new Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act (2021), the survey provides evidence that pending lodgement of a Mining Lease and negotiating a mining agreement with the Ngadju Native Title holders, ground-disturbing activities carried out within the survey area, including the proposed shallow open pit, are exempt from additional Tier 2 or Tier 3 management plans.
Figure 1. Location of the Lake Hope Project (northernmost red star). Lake Hope is one of five exploration licences owned by Playa One Pty Limited, in which Impact has the right to earn an 80% interest.(ASX Release March 21st 2023)
Figure 2. Survey participants, which include the Ngadju Native Title Holders and archaeologist and anthropologist consultants from JCHMC.
Impact will conduct further consultation and surveys for any additional work areas required to develop the Project and aims to develop the Lake Hope Alumina Project collaboratively and respectfully with all traditional owners and native title parties.
Click here for the full ASX Release
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