Australia Minerals & Mining Group Explores Technology to Turn Kaolin into Alumina

Australia Minerals & Mining Group has been granted a five year option to acquire a technology licence that allows the processing of kaolin or aluminous clay to alumina. Remuneration terms for the exclusive, Australia-wide technology licence have yet to be agreed. Professor Shang, who owns the technology process, has previously produced 86 g of 99,99 % high purity alumina and 1,06 kg of 99 % smelter grade alumina from Australia Minerals’ Meckering Kaolin Project. A senior chemical engineer and associate professor of chemistry in southern China, Shang has developed an acid-based process that separates silica from kaolin, leaving between 99 % and 99,99 % alumina. Australia Minerals will work closely with Shang to tailor the technology to the specific attributes of the company’s kaolin material, which has relatively high alumina and low impurity levels. Samples of Australia Minerals’ kaolin are expected to undergo further testing in a scaled pilot plant in 2012, allowing the company to evaluate the attributes and cost benefits of the technology process (11/2011).