Now that Andromeda Metals has received final regulatory approvals from the South Australia Government, the company is set to commence constructing its Great White halloysite-kaolin project.
Australia is the world’s biggest lithium-producing country, while the country also ranks among the top producers of four other essential commodities: iron ore, bauxite, rutile and zircon.
While miners climb over one another to be the biggest and the best, grappling with the whims of consumer demands, others have carved their own path.
In recent years, Andromeda Metals has been advancing its Great White project as it looks to become Australia’s first halloysite-kaolin producer.
Halloysite-kaolin is considered the most researched clay mineral in the world. It’s exceptionally rare, and highly valuable thanks to its unique tubular microstructure.
Now that the SA Government has approved the project’s Program for Environment Protection and Rehabilitation (PEPR) – the second and final regulatory approval – the company is poised to commence constructing Great White.
“We are very excited to have received approval of the PEPR as it brings Andromeda closer to becoming a globally significant producer of halloysite-kaolin products,” Marsh said.
“With this important regulatory milestone now achieved, Andromeda is poised to progress towards construction, as we advance funding discussions which will enable a final investment decision,” he said.
Approval of the PEPR permits the processing of up to 300,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of ore equating to the production of 150,000tpa of halloysite-kaolin.
The PEPR also enables the staged development of Great White along with the mine’s first 13 years of production.
Prior to achieving its PEPR approval, Andromeda had been hard at work laying the corporate groundwork for Great White production.
In March 2021, Andromeda executed an agreement with Japanese porcelain manufacturer Plantan Yamada for its Great White CRM product, which will see the company purchase 5000 tonnes per annum of halloysite-kaolin at $700 per tonne for use in ceramics.
Then in August 2022, Andromeda and Plantan Yamada signed an additional offtake agreement involving the supply of up to 43,000 tonnes of the Great White KCM 90 product.
Plantan Yamada will receive halloysite-kaolin across the first three years of Great White’s operation with price reviews at 12 months and the potential for further extension.
The Japanese porcelain manufacturer had been analysing and testing samples at laboratory, pilot scale and full commercial scale over the prior three years including a 40-tonne batch of Great White material.
This was the second binding offtake agreement for the Great White KCM 90 product, with Andromeda signing a binding offtake term sheet with Vietnam and Hong Kong-based Asia Mineral Resources in July 2022 for the supply of up to 38,500 tonnes of KCM 90.
In June 2021, Andromeda also established an offtake partnership with Jiangsu Mineral Sources International Trading Co. for its Great White PRM product.
This will see the Chinese commodity trading house purchase 70,000 tonnes per annum of Andromeda’s halloysite-kaolin product for more than $700 per tonne to be used in the coatings and polymers market. This is distinct from the CRM and KCM 90 products to be sold to Plantan Yamada and Asia Mineral Resources.
When Marsh spoke to Australian Resources & Investment in a February 2022 feature, he discussed some of the challenges with selling halloysite-kaolin, and how his relationships in the field gave Andromeda a commercial advantage.
“We chose ceramics first because we knew it had the halloysite which is where it’s highly valued,” he said.
“I’ve been selling this stuff for 30-odd years and I’ve got a list of customers that I’ve been involved with over that time.
“So that gave us a huge head start. Plus I knew exactly why these buyers would value it and how much it was worth for them, because they would never tell you that themselves.”
Marsh said much of hallowysite-kaolin’s complexity comes down to selling the product, and the fastidious analysis and decision process buyers go through before signing off on any offtake deals.
“It’s a very hard material to market because there’s no index pricing for this stuff. In China alone, there’s over 10,000 users of this material and they’ve all got their own different formulations, their own processes, their own people who work different ways,” Marsh said.
“You also don’t talk to the buyers, you talk to the technical people and say, ‘here’s our product, this is its chemistry, this is its particle size, this is how it’s going to perform, and this is how to use it in your application’ and convince them how they can use it.”
Despite the strict authentication process for commercially-viable and high-quality halloysite-kaolin, Andromeda’s product jumped through all the hoops potential buyers could throw at it.
Andromeda sees further potential to commercialise halloysite-kaolin in industries such as construction, agriculture, healthcare, cosmetics and nanotechnology.
The company will proceed with early-stage site preparation for Stage 1A construction of Great White in the coming months, with further funding to be raised to support this.
With international buyers lining up, and the last of its regulatory approvals in place, Andromeda’s Great White project is set to make a major splash in the market.
There’s plenty of work still to be done, but Andromeda has plenty of reasons to celebrate its achievements so far, paving the way for a halloysite-kaolin industry to be established in Australia for the first time.
This feature appeared in the April–May edition of Australian Resources & Investment.