ASX-listed King River Resources is progressing its High Purity Alumina Project towards a May 2022 delivery of a definitive feasibility study for the proposed 2,000 tonne per annum HPA production facility. The company says global HPA demand is expected to grow at 30 per cent per annum until at least 2028 with high demand spread across the LED lighting, semiconductor and electronics, optics and battery industries.
The proposed facility will produce 5N and 4N purity aluminium products, with 5N tipping the scales at least 99.999 per cent pure HPA precursor compounds whilst 4N is at least 99.99 per cent pure HPA.
King River has developed its own proprietary ARC process to create the 5N aluminium precursors and 4N HPA. The ARC process takes its name from it use of an industrial Aluminium chemical feedstock which is then Recrystallised for purification and Calcination.
The ARC process is considered by King River to be unique and distinct from the current approach of the industry. The company said its process allows production of 5N aluminium precursors and 4N HPA using industrial chemical feedstocks. This differentiates the process from companies that are synthesising it from aluminium metal or from aluminous clays such as kaolin.
King River’s subsidiary, High Purity Metals, will use the ARC process to produce a suite of aluminium salts, aluminium compounds, boehmite and HPA that the company says are in high demand in the LED lighting, semiconductor and electronics, medical bio-ceramics, optics and lithium-ion battery industries.
In anticipation of positive DFS results, HPM is pressing ahead, planning on having the required finance, contracts, offtake agreements and a JV partner in place in order to expedite plant construction.
The company said the ARC process represented significant cost and carbon footprint advantages to the industry. Testing with different feedstocks and waste streams of other industries is also underway to broaden industry relationships and provide Environmental, Social and Governance, or “ESG” benefits.
King River projects global HPA demand will multiply at a compound annual growth rate of 30 per cent until at least 2028. It says given the global economic transition towards clean energy, with battery storage, electric vehicles, LED lighting and portable electronics all on the rise - combined with an ever-growing population - the future demand is strong.
With the definitive feasibility study soon to be delivered, plans to quickly move into production at King River’s HPA project could see a sudden transformation. If the plans are realised on time and on budget, 2022 could prove to be a watershed moment in the life of King River Resources.
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By Matt Birney
