Perpetual Resources Ltd (ASX:PEC) continues to make progress at its flagship high-grade Beharra Silica Sand Project, 300 kilometres north of Perth in Western Australia, with metallurgical test work and project optimisation initiatives ongoing.
The company expects to announce results of metallurgical testing into the white-sand sub-domain in early to mid-August after additional tests were commissioned to confirm the potential of the final product.
This is still subject to laboratory testing workloads, which remain extremely high across the industry.
Perpetual has also appointed experienced silica sand industry specialist engineering and project consultants MinSol Engineering Pty Ltd to oversee the detailed analysis relating to the final end product specifications and likely product-market fit for the full production potential at Beharra.
MinSol will leverage its experience and networks within the Asian high-grade silica sand markets to create a more complete view of the revenue maximisation potential of Beharra, through a specific focus on yield optimisation and a critical cost/benefit trade off to optimise the best and most valuable combination of products possible.
The first phase of this analysis is due in about six weeks.
Keen interest
So far, Perpetual is pleased with the level of enquiry it is fielding from potential offtake partners and silica sand end-users, confirming a tight end market remains for various silica sand specifications.
The demand appears broad-based for a range of end product applications, including low iron and other specialist end product applications.
Source: IMARC Group, Report Title: “Asia Pacific Silica Sand Market: Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2021-2026”, Report Date: February 2021.
“Holistic review”
Perpetual executive chairman Julian Babarczy said: “With Beharra’s end product iron specifications soon to be confirmed, a holistic review of the complete Beharra end product potential, including product streams that don’t target low-iron end markets but still represent significant commercial opportunities, is now required.
“This additional analysis by MinSol will round out Perpetual’s understanding of the full revenue potential of the Beharra project and will allow an optimisation of the project’s economic model, giving further certainty as we embark on subsequent final study planning phases, which, if successful, will allow rapid project execution once other suitable permitting and funding work streams are completed.”
About Beharra
The Beharra Project comprises a single exploration licence, E70/5221, initially covering an effective land area of 56.8 square kilometres.
In June 2021, Mining Lease M70/1406 was awarded covering an effective land area of 10.34 square kilometres for a period of 21 years.
M70/1406 covers the southern end of EL70/5221 which has resulted in a reduction of this exploration tenement to 48.55 square kilometres.
E70/5951 Beharra West consists of a north-south strip of freehold land with an effective area of 44.8 square kilometres and lies directly west of E70/5221 on the western side of the Yardanogo Nature Reserve. Beharra West and Beharra make up the Beharra Silica Sand Project.