Independent testing has confirmed that high purity alumina (HPA) produced from our Lake Hope project carries exceptionally low levels of uranium and thorium, in some cases below the detection limit of 1 part per billion. This matters because "low-alpha" and "zero-alpha" alumina, with radioactive impurities kept below that same 1 ppb threshold, is what semiconductor manufacturers need for advanced chip packaging, where even trace radioactivity can cause data errors.

What stands out is that we achieved this without adding any processing step aimed at removing uranium or thorium. It appears to be a natural feature of the Lake Hope sediments themselves, which independent assays show carry naturally low average levels of both elements.

The same testing also confirmed that three of our four samples reached 4N purity (above 99.99% Al2O3), with the fourth close behind at 99.977%. Purity has been improving as we refine our Low Temperature Leach process, and the most recent samples are the strongest yet.

This is still exploration and process development, not a finished product. Further work, including pilot-scale testing now underway with Edith Cowan University, will confirm repeatability at larger scale and test whether existing purification steps can push impurity levels even lower. There's no guarantee these results will be replicated at commercial scale, and any future semiconductor industry engagement would depend on that further work.

If you have questions about this announcement, we'd encourage you to send them through the question box on this page.