Sunrise Resources PLC (AIM:SRES, FRA:S4D) (AIM:SRES) reported positive test results from recent commercial concrete pours using natural pozzolan from its CS pozzolan-perlite deposit in Nevada, US.
Two commercial concrete pours were carried out by a large cement and ready-mix company (CRMC) as due diligence towards a commercial agreement. The preliminary results showed early strength gain beating targets and the concrete strengths after just seven days curing exceeding 24-day target strengths.
Target strengths are set at a specified number of days after pouring to test tailored concrete mixes to ensure that they meet the demands placed on the structures being manufactured.
"We are delighted to be announcing these exciting results which come after a number of frustrating delays,” said executive chairman Patrick Cheetham. “The preliminary results from the concrete pours using CS natural pozzolan are first-rate and, we anticipate, will provide the basis for a more structured arrangement with the CRMC carrying out this work."
"Interest in using the CS natural pozzolan in concrete continues to grow and a number of additional companies have requested samples in recent weeks, no doubt driven by the bleak long-term outlook for coal fly ash supplies in the USA.
"Looking to the future, we believe that the US$1.2 trillion infrastructure spending stimulus recently passed by the US Senate and embraced by President Joe Biden, together with Biden's climate plan will give further impetus to pozzolan demand and so we are looking at possibilities to grow our business by acquiring additional pozzolan deposits favourably located for other regional centres of concrete demand in the western United States," he said.
In addition, the company said all customer trials for expansion of horticultural grade perlite have been completed for a 100-ton bulk sample and the results received. The most recent customer trial was considered very successful, it said.
The potential customer advised that they were able to produce expanded horticultural perlite at very low target densities with good production rates and a good-looking product. They also advised that, assuming the previously reported sizing issues were resolved as expected, the CS raw perlite would be a premium product, very good for the US market and that they would be happy to start receiving a regular supply, the AIM-quoted company said.
Sunrise will now process a 200-ton bulk sample following these results.
"Whilst development of the perlite for uses other than for natural pozzolan is the smaller of the two business opportunities at the CS project, we are pleased to have received great feedback from the most recent customer trials of our horticultural grade raw perlite and look forward to advancing this and other production options in tandem with the production of natural pozzolan," Cheetham concluded.