Sunrise Resources PLC (AIM:SRES) said it applied to the California Department of Transport (Caltrans) for conditional approval of CS natural pozzolan for use in California state infrastructure projects.
Caltrans is the government body responsible for the award of state-funded infrastructure construction projects in California. Caltrans Standard Specifications for concrete mandate the use of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs), such as natural pozzolan, to improve the durability and sustainability of its concrete structures.
For a construction material to be used in a Caltrans project it must be officially approved and listed on Caltrans's Authorized Materials List.
"We are targeting the California markets with our CS natural pozzolan and, as Caltrans projects account for a significant percentage of SCM and concrete consumption in California, acceptance of CS Pozzolan onto the Authorized Materials List is an important step to maximise futures sales of our natural pozzolan," said executive chairman Patrick Cheetham.
A material must be commercially available with six months test data from production to be listed, although it has recently become possible for new sources of construction materials to be approved on a conditional basis.
AIM-traded Sunrise, which is developing a CS natural pozzolan-perlite project in Nevada, said it is confident that its CS natural pozzolan will meet the required specifications to be approved on a conditional basis, based on its own independent testing.
Natural pozzolan can partially replace cement in cement and concrete mixes, improving the long-term strength and resistance of concrete, versus concrete made using only Portland cement, and has strong environmental credentials.