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Impact Minerals Limited (ASX:IPT) is pleased to present its Quarterly Report.
HIGHLIGHTS
1. Lake Hope High Purity Alumina (HPA) Project, WA (IPT earning 80%)
- The Mine at Lake Hope:
- A negotiation protocol for Land Access and Cultural Heritage agreements with the Ngadju peoples reviewed and signed.
- Applications for a Mining Lease and associated Miscellaneous licence lodged.
- Infill drilling to define a maiden Measured Resource and Proven Reserve completed with resource calculations and economic studies in progress.
- Mining studies underway to provide mining schedules, proposed equipment, site logistics and costs of mining and transport of ore to Kwinana.
- Further flora fauna and heritage surveys are being planned for the mine haul road.
- The Process Plant:
- Kwinana selected as the location for process plant to produce a benchmark 10,000 tonnes per annum of HPA due to access to providers of the required input chemical reagents, buyers of the fertiliser and acid by-products and access to suitable land. Combined, these provide substantial strategic advantages for the project with savings on capex and opex.
- The Low-Temperature Leach process selected as the most straightforward processing method to produce HPA at scale.
- CPC Engineering selected to provide a design and engineering study for the full-scale plant that is underway.
- Product development, offtake and marketing
- Further test work on HPA and fertiliser by-products continues.
- Experimental work has produced a hydrated alumina product that may have major applications in the catalyst and flame retardant industries.
- Early-stage discussions are underway for potential synergies with existing alumina businesses in Europe and the USA.
- A marketing and product development team is being assembled.
2. Arkun-Beau, WA (IPT 100%)
- No major no activity occurred this quarter, though efforts remain on track to resume exploration after the cropping season ends in the wheatbelt in December.
- 413 soil samples were re-assayed to refine drill targets at Beau and Caligula prospects
- Land access agreements and statutory approvals are being finalised ahead of planned drill programme in Q1 2025
- Previous geochemical and MME survey data at Caligula support the project potential, with $180,000
- co funding awarded under the WA Government’ EIS scheme for drilling.
3. Corporate/Finance
- A FY23 Research and Development Rebate of $395,000 was received during the Quarter.
PROJECT REPORTS
1. LAKE HOPE HIGH PURITY ALUMINA PROJECT, WA (IPT earning 80%)
Figure 1. Location of the Lake Hope Project and proposed haul route to Kwinana.
During the Quarter Impact Minerals announced that it had lodged a Mining Lease Application (MLA63/684) and associated Miscellaneous Licence (L63/99) for the Lake Hope High Purity Alumina (HPA) Project located 500 km east of Perth in Western Australia, (Figures 1 and 2). This is a crucial step in advancing the project towards production as it defines the work required to obtain the statutory approvals needed for the grant of the Mining Lease.
The approvals process, together with the logistics and estimated costs of mining and transporting the Lake Hope mud to the process plant, form one of the four key parts of a Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) on Lake Hope, which is in progress (Figure 3 and ASX Release July 10th, 2024). Impact can take an 80% interest in Playa One Pty Limited, which owns the Lake Hope Project and associated intellectual property, by completing the PFS (ASX Releases March 21st 2023 and July 10th 2024).
The PFS followed on from a positive Scoping Study, which showed that for a benchmark production of 10,000 tonnes per annum of HPA, the Project has an estimated post-tax Net Present Value (NPV8) of about A$1.3 billion and would potentially be one of the lowest-cost producers of HPA globally (ASX Release November 9th 2023).
Click here for the Quarterly Cashflow Report
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Impact Minerals, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
IPT:AU
Loyal to Acquire the High-Grade Highway Reward Copper Gold Mine
Key Highlights
- Loyal secures binding option to acquire the Highway Reward Copper Gold Mine in Queensland, Australia - one of the world’s highest-grade copper mines, with past production totalling 3.65Mt at 5.7% Cu and 260kt at 4.5 g/t Au.
- The acquisition is the first step in Loyal’s 2025 Strategic Plan to broaden its critical minerals portfolio into copper.
- No exploration has been conducted on the granted mining leases since operations ceased in July 2005 despite a ~680% increase in copper prices and a ~1,256% increase in gold prices since the 1997 feasibility study.
- Significant increase in copper and gold prices, combined with the previous exclusion of gold in sulphides from the mine plan, highlights the enhanced remnant copper-gold potential.
- Exploration potential for new discoveries both along strike and at depth, as previous mining only reached depths of 220 metres for open pit and 390 metres for underground operations, with limited exploration beyond mined zones.
- With $4.4 million in funding, Loyal is well-positioned to revisit the high-grade Highway Reward Copper Gold Mine by deploying modern exploration techniques. With global initiatives to enhance energy grids and no USA tariffs on Australian copper, the outlook for copper is strong and unencumbered.
Loyal‘s Managing Director, Mr. Adam Ritchie, commented:
"We are thrilled to secure this incredibly rare opportunity for our current and future Loyal investors. The Highway Reward Copper Gold Mine, considered one of the highest-grade copper mines in the world, is now primed for a revisit after 20 years of dormancy.
The granted mining leases of the Highway Reward mine provide an amazing speed to market opportunity - especially when both copper and gold are near all-time highs. The short-term and long-term opportunities at Highway Reward are exciting, considering the significant growth in commodity prices since the 1997 feasibility study. Copper is driving our electric future and gold continues to play an important role in our global economy.
Whilst a lot has changed in the past 28 years, the unwavering demand for copper and gold has only intensified. This is truly an amazing opportunity to unlock and showcase the immense potential of this forgotten mine. With modern technology and innovative mining techniques, we believe the Highway Reward Copper Gold Mine will provide exceptional value and returns to our Loyal shareholders."
Figure 1 Highway Reward Copper Gold Mine: Located 37 km south of Charters Towers within the Mount Windsor Volcanic Belt. Accessible via an all-weather highway, 172 km from the Port of Townsville, Queensland, Australia.
The Highway Reward Copper Gold Mine is located only 37 km from the active mining town of Charters Towers in Queensland, Australia, within the Mount Windsor Volcanic Belt. This area is renowned for its rich history in copper and gold mining, with strong social license support for mining activities. It features large-scale mining operations such as, Newmont’s 3.2 Moz Mt Leyshon gold mine and Yuxin Holding’s 3.4 Moz Pajingo gold mine. The region is close to the polymetallic, Thalanga Processing Plant and the Mount Carlton Processing Plant, with road and rail to Glencore’s Mount Isa copper hub, Townsville copper refinery and the Port of Townsville.
With the growth in commodity prices and advancements in exploration and mining technologies, the potential for remnant copper-gold mining has significantly improved. Previous mining operations targeted copper within chalcopyrite, while gold associated with both chalcopyrite and pyrite was excluded from the mine plan. With lower copper equivalent cut-off grades (copper & gold), higher continuity of copper-gold can be drill tested to demonstrate the reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction and mineral resource potential.
Graph 1: Highway Reward Copper Gold Mine - mining ceased in July 2005: 28 Years of Commodity Growth
Significant potential will be assessed and areas tested for copper-gold extensions to subvertical trends, that may exist below current mining levels at the Highway Reward Copper-Gold Mine. The previously mined, copper-gold rich pipes will also be assessed for drill testing along strike (Figure 2). Previous mining and surface mapping geological observations illustrate that high- grade copper-gold pipes have been identified in dacite, rhyolite, and volcaniclastic host rocks, therefore strong prospectivity exists for discovering additional pipes beyond the historically mined zones in all rock types on the property, except recent overlying sediments that conceal the basement host rocks (Figure 2). No modern advanced geophysical techniques or data processing methods have yet been applied to assess this potential.
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Loyal Metals Limited, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
