Announcement PDF ASX Code: IPT 23 April 2025 CORPORATE RELEASE A Transformational Step Towards Becoming a Fully Integrated HPA Producer Impact Minerals Limited (ASX: IPT) (Impact or Company) is pleased to announce that it will acquire a 50% interest in Alluminous Pty Ltd (Alluminous), becoming its largest shareholder. Alluminous is a newly formed company that has successfully acquired 100% of HiPurA Pty Ltd (Administrators Appointed) (HiPurA). HiPurA owns the HiPurA® High Purity Alumina (HPA) processing technology which was previously developed and wholly owned by ChemX Materials Limited (Administrators Appointed) (ChemX). Both ChemX and HiPurA separately entered voluntary administration on 2 January 2025 (ASX Release 4 April 2025). The acquisition provides a number of strategic and tactical benefits, including: • Potential to accelerate Impact’s entry into the HPA market by up to two years, providing a significant time and cost advantage compared to the current projected timeline. • HiPurA® is complementary to the Lake Hope Project, which remains central to Impact’s strategy. Financial modelling and report writing for the pre-feasibility study (PFS) are well advanced. • Immediate access to the HiPurA® HPA process, which has demonstrated >99.99% (4N) purity and is designed to be scalable. • A pilot plant that is largely constructed and nearing commissioning, with modest additional capital expenditure required to commence production and generate product samples. • Ownership of a fully equipped HPA laboratory and micro-plant eliminates the need for third-party testing, and enables faster customer qualification and process optimisation. • Potential integration of the Lake Hope resource into HiPurA® via back-engineering, while unlocking a new pathway using chemical feedstocks. This allows both commercial options to be pursued to reach a streamlined path to market. • Supports strategic alignment with Impact’s CRC-P research grant, allowing integration of membrane technologies and strengthening government funding prospects. • Involvement of the original HiPurA® inventors, which together with Impact’s own HPA capabilities, ensures technical continuity, deep expertise, and innovation-led process improvements. • Partnership with experienced North American investors may provide exposure to additional funding opportunities and global customer networks in high-growth HPA markets including batteries, semiconductors, and LEDs. • The total acquisition cost of $2.2 million will be shared equally by Impact and the other shareholders of Alluminous. Impact's share is $1.1 million. This structure is expected to lower Impact’s financial exposure and share technical and financial responsibilities. Error! Unknown document property name. The remaining 50% of Alluminous will be owned by the two founders and inventors of the HiPurA® technology, together with North American venture capital investors with experience in the resource sector. This ownership structure is expected to support the development of the HiPurA® HPA process's development by retaining its original developers' involvement and may facilitate access to North American capital markets. Alluminous's next steps will be to demonstrate the HiPurA® technology at pilot plant scale, followed by expansion to commercial-scale production in North America. There is also potential for Alluminous to pursue a listing on a North American securities exchange within the next 12 to 24 months. Impact's Managing Director, Dr. Mike Jones, said, “This acquisition represents a rare and strategic opportunity for Impact. ChemX ultimately failed due to financial issues rather than any technical shortcomings. Our due diligence identified a robust, well-designed technology and business plan. The HiPurA® process demonstrated innovation, scalability, and the proven ability to produce 4N HPA at the micro-plant scale. The associated pilot plant, which is capable of producing at least 25 tonnes of HPA per year, is nearing commissioning. This has the potential to accelerate the time to commercialisation materially. The acquisition process was highly competitive and provides us with a second avenue to progress our HPA strategy. HiPurA may serve as a complementary addition to our Lake Hope Project, with plans to explore integration through back-engineering. HiPurA® technology also provides alternative development possibilities, with potential advantages including faster time to market, multiple feedstock options, and a highly scalable production model. Based on our current assessments, the time savings could be as much as two years, which may be worth millions of dollars. Our partnership within Alluminous brings together a rare combination of deep technical and financial expertise. The original inventors of HiPurA® will remain actively involved, ensuring continuity in technology development. At the same time, our North American co-investors contribute significant financial acumen and market access, particularly in high-value supply chains for batteries, semiconductors, and specialty materials. “This acquisition provides more than just a process—it gives us real assets, well-credentialed partners, and a faster path to revenue. Impact is now uniquely positioned to become part of a vertically integrated, globally competitive supplier of HPA.” Background to the ChemX and HiPurA Administration HiPurA was a wholly owned subsidiary of ChemX. Both entities entered voluntary administration on 2 January 2025 (ASX:CMX release 2 January 2025). WA Insolvency Solutions were appointed as Administrators and commenced a standard sale process for the companies and their respective assets. Impact reviewed the initial data provided by the Administrators and decided to pursue the opportunity. Although the process was confidential, the Company contemplated a transaction for the HPA assets and appropriately disclosed this in its prospectus for the recent renounceable rights issue announced to the ASX on 28 February 2025. Following a period of due diligence on the HiPurA® technology and the financial position of HiPurA, Impact announced to the ASX on 4 April 2025 that it had submitted an offer to acquire HiPurA. WA Insolvency Solutions announced to the ASX on 14 April 2025 that it had accepted two separate Deeds of Company Arrangement (DOCA), one for ChemX from Benelong Capital Partners, and one for HiPurA from Alluminous. Completion of the DOCA for HiPurA is conditional on the following: 1. the receipt of $2.2 million by the Administrators from Alluminous by 28 April 2025; 2. ChemX transferring all of the shares in HiPura to Alluminous; 3. the resignation of the current directors of HiPura and appointment of Alluminous' nominated ASX:IPT | ABN 52 119 062 261 directors; and 4. assignment of the lease at 3 Flindell Street, O’Connor WA 6163 to Alluminous. This has been agreed in writing subject to receipt of the funds referred to in Item 1 above. The expected completion date of the DOCA transaction is on or around 28 April 2025. HiPurA®: A Transformational Acquisition The HiPurA® process is Australian-patented, with additional international patents granted or pending. Key features of the technology include: • Successfully produced >99.99% (4N) HPA at micro-plant scale (ASX release CMX: 13 November 2023). • A 25 tpa pilot plant that can be commissioned within a few months with minimal further capital expenditure (Figure 1). • Demonstrated suitability for modularisation, scaling and proximity siting, allowing future plants to be located closer to end users. • A low-energy intensity, low-carbon design, aligned with global ESG trends and customer expectations. • Independence from mining feedstocks if required, allowing for the use of commercially available aluminous chemicals to meet market demand faster in overseas markets. Figure 1. The HiPurA pilot plant: note the filtration units still in wrappers. ASX:IPT | ABN 52 119 062 261 The Complete Package: Technology, Equipment, Expertise, and Access to Capital Markets This acquisition delivers far more than a process flow sheet. HiPurA brings with it many advantages, including solutions to challenges that Impact has learned on its HPA journey with the Lake Hope Project. These advantages include: • Full access to a fully equipped, on-site analytical HPA laboratory eliminates the reliance on third-party testing facilities and speeds up pilot plant commissioning and customer qualification (Figure 2). One of Impact’s key learnings has been the necessity of having an in-house laboratory, especially for pilot work, to improve assay turnaround time and enable process adjustments on the fly. Establishing an inhouse laboratory was to be one of the core components of the recently awarded CRC-P research grant (ASX Release 22 October 2024). • A proven micro-plant used to develop HiPurA®—now available to Impact to back-engineer and test Lake Hope material (Figure 3). • The pilot plant, which has the potential to be scaled and modularised (Figure 4). Modularisation removes the requirement for the large upfront capital expenditure required to expand production to the benchmark 10,000 tonnes per annum. • Sample product production will allow immediate off-take engagement with customers. The HiPurA pilot plant accelerates this engagement by at least 12 to 18 months. • An experienced operations and R&D team, including the two original inventors, who will continue to guide the technology’s evolution. • The membrane technology being developed by the Mineral Recovery Research Centre (MRRC) department at Edith Cowan University in Perth can also be integrated into the HiPurA process (ASX Release 22 October 2024), providing strategic alignment with Impact’s CRC-P grant and pilot plant development timeline. This de-risks government co-funding and accelerates grant milestones. • The inclusion of two North American investment groups as partners in Alluminous is a big step towards broadening Impact’s exposure to global capital pools, particularly in the United States and Canada. These partners bring financial depth, strong networks, and insight into major downstream HPA consumers and end-user industries, from semiconductors and electronics to EV battery makers. They will be invaluable partners in the game-changing commercialisation of the technology (Figure 4). Figure 2 (L). ICP analytical machine capable of reading up to 66 elements to ppb levels of detection. Figure 3 (R). Micro-plant used to demonstrate the HiPurA process and to be used for Lake Hope material. ASX:IPT | ABN 52 119 062 261 Figure 4. A game-changing commercialisation pathway. A Strategic Bolt-On to the Lake Hope Project The acquisition is a natural and highly strategic addition to Impact’s Lake Hope HPA Project, where a PFS with encouraging results will be completed shortly with final financial modelling and report writing well advanced. Over the past two years, Lake Hope has developed into a flagship project with a unique, highgrade salt lake clay feedstock, demonstrating advantages in resource quality, ease of mining, and efficient processing (ASX Release 19 November 2024). While Lake Hope is the core asset, Impact’s growing understanding of the HPA sector has shown that success primarily depends on product quality, customisation, and customer qualifications. Many HPA applications, whether for semiconductors, battery separators, or LED substrates, require specific characteristics and occasionally lengthy approval lead times. The HiPurA® technology provides Impact with a critical downstream advantage: a proven, modular, and scalable processing route that does not depend on any single feedstock. It offers Impact immediate flexibility and optionality, enabling the assessment of the most commercially viable path to market through the Lake Hope Project, chemical feedstocks, or a combination of both. To that end, Impact will now conduct test work to evaluate the compatibility of Lake Hope feedstock with the HiPurA® process, utilising the same micro-plant used to develop and validate the process (Figure 3), followed by work in the full pilot plant (Figure 1). Strategic and Tactical Benefits to Impact Minerals In summary, the acquisition of HiPurA provides Impact with many strategic and tactical benefits. It has: • Immediate downstream capability and an accelerated path to market by up to two years. • A platform to engage customers earlier, with samples from the pilot plant to support product qualification. • A dual-stream approach: maintain the low-cost, natural feedstock option via Lake Hope while developing chemical feedstock routes with near-term scalability. ASX:IPT | ABN 52 119 062 261 • Potential for Alluminous to license the technology or enter into strategic partnerships with downstream processors and manufacturers in key markets such as South Korea, Japan, and the USA. Next Steps Once the Administrators' handover is complete, the immediate next steps will be thoroughly reviewing the entire HiPurA process. As quickly as practicable, a detailed budget and work programme to complete the commissioning of the pilot plant will be formulated, together with a detailed marketing strategy. In addition, work will commence on designing test work to back-engineer the Lake Hope feedstock into the process and on integrating the CRC-P research project. Impact’s dual-stream HPA strategy combines upstream strength and downstream innovation, positioning the Company at the forefront of the evolving global HPA market. Due Diligence Financial HiPurA owed approximately $180,000 to trade creditors and approximately $2.5 million to ChemX via an inter-company loan. The loans were provided for working capital to develop the HiPurA® technology and construct the pilot plant. ChemX had debts of approximately $3.3 million and was unable to fund itself, which meant it could no longer provide further working capital to HiPurA. As HiPurA had no income, it was unable to meet its obligations to creditors. Impact considered the financial position to be straightforward and required no further due diligence. Under the DOCA proposed by Alluminous, trade creditors of HiPurA will be paid in full, the Administrators' costs will be covered, and the remaining funds will be distributed to ChemX in full satisfaction of the intercompany loan. Technical Impact reviewed all of the technical information made available by the Administrators and held extensive discussions with the previous CEO of ChemX, who was responsible for building the pilot plant, and has the requisite background knowledge on what is required to complete commissioning. The review was driven by Impact’s in-house technical consultants who have over 50 years of experience in alumina production and proprietary technology for producing HPA. The acquisition was considered to significantly de-risk, reduce costs, and accelerate Impact’s Lake Hope Project. The HiPurA process is a solvent extraction process that can potentially work on several different natural and chemical feedstocks. Two key risks were identified: first, that the plant may not produce HPA of the appropriate purity. The results of the micro-plant test work completed indicate that this would be unlikely, but the time to be able to fully commission the plant is unknown. Secondly, it has to be established that material from the Lake Hope Project, or intermediate products produced from the early-stage pre-treatment of the material, can be successfully processed to produce HPA by the HiPurA process. This will only be proven through the proposed test work in the micro-plant (before testing in the pilot plant). This work will be done in conjunction with test work under the CRC-P Research grant awarded to Impact in conjunction with CPC Engineering and Edith Cowan University (ASX Release 22 October 2024). ASX:IPT | ABN 52 119 062 261 Alluminous Alluminous has five founding shareholders: Impact (50%) and four other unrelated parties who each hold 12.5%, David Leavy, Dr Nick Welham (the inventors of the HiPurA® technology), and Amvest Capital and its clients. Amvest Capital, a New York-based private equity firm are known to Impact and are a well-established and recognised investors in the resources industry, with a track record of providing funding for resources projects. Alluminous will acquire all of HiPurA's issued capital for $2.2 million in cash, payable to the HiPurA Administrators by 28 April 2025. The acquisition will be funded equally via a Share Subscription Agreement in Alluminous, with Impact contributing $1.1 million and the other shareholders contributing the remaining $1.1 million (unless otherwise agreed) Subscriptions are to be completed by 24 April 2025. If Impact fails to contribute its $1.1 million share of the purchase price and initial working capital of $500,000 ($1.6 million in total), Alluminous may terminate the binding term sheet and proceed to acquire HiPurA independently. However, Impact does not anticipate any difficulties in making its contribution. Additional contributions for future working capital will be raised through further share subscriptions in Alluminous, with an initial amount of $1 million to be contributed by 15 May 2025. Impact and other founding shareholders will have a first right of refusal to subscribe pro rata to all future capital raises into Alluminous, and the Company intends to maintain its 50% shareholding. Shareholders who do not participate in future capital raisings will be diluted accordingly, and new shareholders may be introduced. While Impact is not in a position to disclose the financial capacity of the other shareholders, it understands that each has the means to and intends to meet their funding obligations. The Board of Alluminous will comprise four Directors, with an independent chairperson who, subject to final agreement, will have a casting vote. Impact has the right to appoint two Directors and has nominated Dr Mike Jones and Mr Scott Phegan to the Board. Together, the other founding shareholders have the right to appoint two shareholders and have nominated David Leavy and Dr Nick Welham. An executive search process is underway to appoint the independent chairperson by unanimous agreement of the four Directors within 45 days. A Shareholders Agreement is anticipated to be finalised by 20 May 2025 and will be on customary terms. In the interim, the parties have agreed to a binding term sheet. Key terms include: 1. Existing shareholders will have a first right of refusal to participate in future capital raisings. 2. No shareholder may exceed a 50% shareholding unless otherwise agreed. 3. Shareholders will not have a right of veto over capital raises. Following a decision of the Board to raise capital, shareholders will have 120 days to contribute. 4. Work programmes and budgets must be approved by the Board. 5. Impact will have a non-compete exemption, allowing it to continue developing its own HPA business. Effect of the Transaction on Impact’s Business Plan Impact is currently completing the final financial modelling and report for the PFS on the Lake Hope Project (ASX Release 19 November 2024). Impact intends to continue developing its Lake Hope Project, with the next stage of work focused on constructing a pilot plant to prove Impact’s novel process route for producing HPA at a larger scale. This work will be done in close collaboration with CPC Engineering and the Mineral Recovery Research Centre (MRRC) department at Edith Cowan University under the auspices of the federal Government grant of $2.87 million awarded to the three parties under the CRC-P grant scheme. ASX:IPT | ABN 52 119 062 261 Impact’s estimated out-of-pocket budget for the next 12 months for this work was between $175,000 and $200,000 per month and includes capital expenditures for constructing a pilot plant. These figures include marketing and other test work costs. In addition, $100,000 of out-of-pocket expenses was allocated to a drill programme at Arkun. The Alluminous transaction allows Impact to accelerate the pilot plant development work. Final plant commissioning is estimated to cost approximately $500,000 with Impact’s share being $250,000. The remainder of the initial working capital will be put to running the plant semi-continuously. It is estimated this will cost between $250,000 and $300,000 per month with Impact’s share to be $125,000 to $150,000. This will allow Impact to also fund on-going test work , other feasibility work for Lake Hope post the PFS and the Arkun drill programme. For clarity, some of the funds originally allocated to the Lake Hope pilot plant and test work will be reallocated to the commissioning and running of the HiPurA pilot plant. Impact recently closed a renounceable rights issue and, as of 31 March 2025, had a cash balance of $3.7 million. The purchase price and initial working capital outlay will be $1.6 million leaving a balance of about $2 million. Further capital raises will be required to fund ongoing work, as is the norm for junior resource companies. ASX:IPT | ABN 52 119 062 261