FYI Resources Ltd (ASX:FYI, OTCQX:FYIRF) has completed a production campaign to generate high purity alumina (HPA) through its pilot plant in Western Australia with this work resulting in a 15% increase in total HPA output.
The company said the campaign had proved successful with large volumes of high-quality HPA produced for targeted product marketing to potential customers.
The pilot plant work, which also produced samples with particular specifications requested by certain end users, demonstrated improvements in process efficiencies and product recovery.
Process optimisation
These improvements in the process design resulted from modifications to the materials of construction and handling.
FYI Resources managing director Roland Hill said: “This small-scale production run through the pilot plant allows FYI to analyse performance efficiencies of the process optimizing various aspects of the flowsheet.
"It also progresses our relationships with potential customers in providing quality HPA for qualification purposes to meet their specific requirements.
"We will continue finalising samples and deliver to customers as soon as possible.”
Innovative process design
FYI has developed an innovative process design for the integrated production of high-quality, high-purity alumina (HPA) predominantly for electric vehicles (lithium-ion batteries), sapphire glass, LEDs/microLEDs and other broader tech applications.
FYI's moderate temperature, atmospheric pressure innovative process flowsheet is the foundation of the HPA strategy.
The pilot plant campaign completed a scheduled 17-day continuous production run with the HPA subjected to several internal tests following the trial.
Initial product assessment by the pilot plant technical team suggests that the HPA is in line with the upper range of product quality and purity.
Further testing
The HPA produced will now be independently tested for purity analysis before proceeding to various finishing stages and shipping of the samples by FYI to potential customers for assessment and qualification.
This pilot plant production run is part of the company’s long-term commitment to its HPA strategy as it is directed towards addressing specific product requests from targeted end users with whom FYI has built strong relationships.
FYI is positioning itself to be a significant producer of 4N and 5N HPA in the rapidly developing high-tech product markets.
HPA market dynamics
HPA is increasingly becoming the primary sought-after input material for certain high-tech products principally for its unique characteristics and physical and chemical properties that address the high specification requirements of those applications such as LEDs and other sapphire glass products.
The longer-term driver for HPA, with forecasts of >17% year-on-year growth (GAGR), is the outlook for the burgeoning electric vehicle and static energy storage markets where the primary function is in the use as a separator material between the anode and cathode in batteries to increase power, functionality and safety of the battery cells.