FYI Resources Ltd (ASX: FYI) has announce promising results from assessment of the optimised component of the company’s recently completed high purity alumina (HPA) pilot plant trial.
Managing Director, Roland Hill, said the analyses received were well above FYI’s target grade (99.99% Al2O3), averaging 99.995% Al2O3.
Importantly, the achievement demonstrated operational improvements in the plant that will be applied to the process flowsheet and ultimately the commercial refining facility.
“We were very encouraged with the initial pilot plant operational performance and in the plant achieving above target grade of 99.99%,” Mr Hill said.
“However, we are especially pleased to now receive the excellent results from the optimised phase as it demonstrates that through the efforts of the piloting, improvements and refinements to the flowsheet have been achieved.
This will have a positive impact on the final design of the plant and commercial production of HPA.”
Mr Hill said FYI’s pilot plant trial production was designed to test functional operation of the company’s innovative HPA flowsheet design.
“The plants purpose was not necessarily intended to achieve target grade of 99.99% Al2O3 – but more to observe and analyse the continuous ‘end to end’ process operation and effectiveness of the materials handling for scale up factors for inclusion into the proposed full-scale commercial plant,” he said.
Using feedstock from FYI’s aluminous clay (kaolin) deposit at Cadoux in Western Australia, FYI completed two pilot plant trial product phases: one phase comprised a standard process trial, the second phase included a refined and optimised trial run which incorporated various modifications to the plant which resulted in obvious improvements in process efficiency and achievement in grade.
Mr Hill said the pilot plant has played a critical role in the validation of the company’s innovative HPA flowsheet. The facility has also played an equally important role in allowing FYI and the study management team to observe actual “end to end” production of the flowsheet that accurately reflects the design of the full-sized commercial refinery.
“During the combined phases of the pilot plant trial, FYI noted many aspects of the production materials handling where refinements and improvements could be incorporated to the flowsheet design which were not highlighted in the design model or experienced in the previous locked cycle and variability tests.”