Page 34 - pd290-Feb21-mag-web

sIte VIsIt

“ We have focused on the

kaolin market, which is
a stable kind of market and not
subject to boom-bust cycles.

tightening supply of kaolin is on the cards ogy to produce metakaolin at its Kwinana teries and in creating synthetic sapphire
for WAK, which is also keeping tabs on plant facility. for the faces of portable devices and that
emerging industries. “Metakaolin can be used as a feedstock kind of thing. They are linked to these
Sorensen said establishing a wet pro- for geopolymer concrete. Geopolymer fast-growing markets which makes the
cessing facility close to its rail facility at concrete is important for the future of the supply and demand picture very posi-
Wickepin could potentially allow the com- globe simply because of the CO2 inten- tive for a producer and these things sell
pany to enter the premium paper and sity of the traditional concrete processes,” for very high prices. WAK has chosen to
packaging market, where major produc- Sorensen said. watch this space rather than invest in it for
ers in the field from China, Japan and “The production of Portland cement the time being.
Korea have been afforded exposure to around the globe is one of the single big- “Our Wickepin resource is highly suita-
samples of WAK’s wet product. gest emitters of CO2 globally and me- ble for this technology. What is important
WAK will pursue further R&D activities takaolin as a feedstock for geopolymer for the HPA process is the purity and our
to enhance its wet process technology concretes can replace, in certain cases, material being a primary deposit is very
for potential commercialisation at some Portland cement technologies and there- pure.
point, in addition to advancing technol- fore significantly reduce the amount [by “It is an ideal feedstock for this process.
as much as 80%] of CO2 produced. While We are going to watch with interest the
this initiative is still in its infancy, WAK has existing players in that space. There are a
active R&D programmes in place study- couple of them listed on the ASX like FYI
ing not only with respect to the geopoly- Resources Ltd and Altech Chemicals Ltd
mer concrete market but also the tech- and we are going to watch and see how
nology around metakaolin, so watch this they progress their projects. If the tech-
space.” nology proves successful WA Kaolin will
Given the purity of WAK’s 30.5mt of be in there as a follower.”
kaolinised granite – one of the world’s WAK’s tactic to make a safe entry into
largest primary resources capable of the HPA sphere is based on the capex re-
supporting a 30-year mine life boasting quirements to play in that field.
high brightness and low impurities – the “For a company of our size we could
company is equipped to explore different make very good profits for our investors
options for its product. in the traditional kaolin market and re-
High purity alumina (HPA) in the form ally establish the company and make it
of 4N and 5N is another avenue WAK can very profitable in that space. Then, if this
consider in time and Sorensen is happy to technology is proven to be commercially
be a follower in that market. viable, we would be very happy to follow
“The centrepiece of emerging tech- in,” Sorensen said.
nologies in kaolin is HPA,” Sorensen said. – Mark Andrews
“These very high purity alumina prod-
ucts, once produced, can be used in bat-
Andrew Sorensen

Page 34 FeBRUaRY 2021 aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT