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Andromeda Metals (ASX: ADN) has achieved another milestone in its high-purity alumina (HPA) development program, producing material with purity of up to 99.9989 per cent and sending its first commercial sample to Japan for customer evaluation.
The results strengthen the company’s ambitions to establish South Australia as a supplier of HPA, an Australian critical mineral used in advanced technologies and high-tech manufacturing.
HPA is a premium industrial material valued for its chemical stability, hardness, heat resistance and dissipation, and versatility in physical and crystalline forms.
Andromeda has spent more than seven years developing a proprietary process to refine HPA from kaolin sourced from its Great White project in South Australia.
The technology offers a potential pathway to convert the company’s kaolin resources into higher-value industrial products.
Independent analysis by EAG Eurofins confirmed purity of 99.9989 per cent in two of three samples produced at Andromeda’s continuous pilot plant, with the third recording 99.9986 per cent.
All three results exceed the 99.99 per cent threshold for 4N HPA, demonstrating the ability to produce ultra-high-purity material under continuous pilot-scale operating conditions.
The inaugural commercial sample has been dispatched to a prospective Japanese customer involved in high-tech manufacturing, with further samples expected during the December quarter.
Andromeda acting chief executive officer Sarah Clarke said the results represented an important commercialisation milestone.
“Sustained pilot-scale production of HPA and the commencement of evaluation activities with potential customers is an important step in advancing our HPA commercialisation strategy,” Clarke said.
Building international customer relationships
The Japanese evaluation program follows Andromeda’s strategic HPA supply heads of agreement with Traxys North America, providing a pathway for potential customer engagement in the United States.
The company expects to produce both amorphous HPA and crystalline alpha-HPA samples during the current pilot campaign, allowing prospective customers to evaluate different product forms.
Independent testing provides external validation of product purity, although customer qualification and commercial-scale production remain important milestones.
From pilot plant to commercial production
Andromeda’s continuous pilot program is also generating technical information to support its planned pre-feasibility study (PFS).
The program will assess process optimisation, operating parameters, engineering requirements and potential co-products, including amorphous silica.
“At the same time, the HPA pilot program is generating valuable engineering, design and operational data required for the pre-feasibility study, the planning for which is currently underway,” Clarke said.
Andromeda recently secured its first patent for its proprietary HPA process, following years of metallurgical testing and process development.
Its 2025 HPA scoping study examined a staged development capable of producing up to 10,000 tonnes annually, estimating a pre-tax net present value of approximately $1.48 billion and average annual EBITDA of $247 million.
For investors, the latest results strengthen the technical case for Andromeda’s HPA technology while opening a potential route to international customers.
The next steps will be securing customer qualification, demonstrating commercial scalability and advancing the PFS.
With pilot production continuing and customer evaluations underway in Japan, Andromeda is progressing towards establishing a commercial HPA processing business based on South Australian kaolin.
Andromeda’s HPA project is among the 94 investment-ready projects included on the Federal Government’s updated Critical Minerals Prospectus.
According to CSIRO research, the global HPA market is projected to increase from $US4.63 billion in 2024 to over $US15 billion by 2030.
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