Perpetual Resources Ltd (ASX:PEC) has made progress in its bulk testing program, investigating the sub-domain of the Beharra White Sands Project in WA for a high-grade zone with a low-impurity profile in order to produce products for the rapidly growing photovoltaic (PV) solar cell glass covering market.
Perpetual has completed initial washing and screening stages for each of the five sub-domain bulk samples at IHC Mining’s facilities in Brisbane.
Key spiral and magnetics stages are underway, and product samples of washed and screened sub-domains have been dispatched to the potentially interested end-user for ongoing direct shipping ore (DSO) test-work and negotiations.
Gaining exposure to clean energy market
“We are pleased to be seeing progress on our white sand sub-domain sampling program at IHC Mining, which is targeting delivery of a zone of extremely low impurity white sand at Beharra,” Perpetual Resources managing director Robert Benussi said.
“If confirmed via the current testing program, this low impurity horizon has potential to generate an end product that may well service the fast-growing PV solar cell glass coverings market.
“The scale of new global renewable energy plans announced in recent times has been unprecedented, with plans for solar farm projects to provide generation capacity for a range of end uses, including hydrogen, being central to the world’s aims to decarbonise to manageable levels by 2050.
“This is driving a huge increase in demand for solar panels, a key component of which is very low impurity white sand, that is used to formulate the glass coverings that are required to maximise both sunlight capture and resultant efficiencies of the underlying solar panels.
“At Perpetual, we are actively aligning our focus and operations with these strong and enduring themes, which we believe have potential to position Perpetual as a crucial player in the clean energy commodity supply chain.”
Perpetual expects to receive the final results from this white sand sub-domain testing in the current quarter.
Desktop analysis of the two most promising sub-domains at Beharra (the Upper White and Lower White domains) has led Perpetual to believe these domains hold the highest potential to deliver the necessary end products for the target PV-solar cell glass market.