Andromeda Metals Ltd (ASX:ADN) has started a new aircore drilling program at Great White deposit within the Great White Kaolin Project joint venture with Minotaur Exploration Ltd (ASX:MEP) on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula.
The 2,500-metre program will focus on the high purity kaolin (non-halloysite type) Ultra Bright Domain of the deposit.
This program aims to provide additional material for ongoing testing and to better define the Ultra Bright Domain.
Testing by Andromeda in Europe has shown that the Ultra Bright Domain, which consists of extremely high purity kaolinite with ultra-high brightness and with low halloysite levels and extremely low iron oxide, is ideally suited to high-value markets in specialist coatings and polymer.
Drilling will also follow up on a newly identified zone of ultra-high bright, high-grade halloysite immediately south of the proposed Great White Pit.
Ceramic fired brightness testing
In the tests, the ISO Brightness and particle size distributions of the high purity, ultra-bright refined products at 70% and 90% passing 2µm from the Ultra Bright Domain have been described by Andromeda as being exceptional.
Ceramic fired brightness testing was carried out to assess potential product blending with halloysite-kaolin to improve fired brightness.
The fired brightness values from the Ultra Bright Domain were all over 100 (off-scale) which reflects the minimal impurities present.
Great White Kaolin Project
Great White Kaolin Project covers two main geographic areas of interest, both in the western province of South Australia.
The current main area of focus is on the Eyre Peninsula which comprises four tenements and is about 635 kilometres west by road from Adelaide and 130 kilometres southeast from Ceduna.
The project is a joint venture between Andromeda Metals and Minotaur Exploration with ADN holding a 75% equity interest and Minotaur the remainder.
High-quality halloysite-kaolin occurrences exist extensively across the Great White Project area making this a region of global significance for the mineral and capable of supporting a considerable long-life mining operation, should final feasibility studies determine the project to be commercially positive.
Andromeda also holds a 100% interest in the Mount Hope Kaolin Project which is about 160 kilometres southeast of the Great White Kaolin Project.