Highlights

  • Strategy formally reset to high-purity alumina at Lake Hope; all other projects classified as monetisation or investment assets.
  • Prefeasibility study for Lake Hope HPA returns NPV A$1.165 billion at 10% discount rate and IRR of 47%, described as 'industry-leading' economics.
  • Pilot plant commissioning targeted for 30 November 2026; AGM also scheduled that date, including a vote on a company name change.
  • Commonwealth nickel-copper project managed as a 30% free-carried interest through Kuniko; Broken Hill tenements earmarked for sale or joint venture.

Strategy resets are common in junior mining. Rarely do they come with a A$1 billion-plus NPV to back the change. Impact Minerals (ASX:IPT) issued its formal pivot to high-purity alumina on 28 October 2026, releasing a prefeasibility study for its Lake Hope kaolin deposit in Western Australia that the company says positions it among the most attractive HPA projects globally.

The Lake Hope PFS Numbers

The Lake Hope prefeasibility study — carried out by independent consultants — models a 4,000-tonne-per-year HPA operation, scaling from a chemical-grade alumina base produced from the Lake Hope kaolin deposit. The key economics: post-tax NPV of A$1.165 billion at a 10% discount rate, post-tax IRR of 47%, and a payback period not specified in the announcement. The company uses a 4N (99.99% purity) HPA selling price of A$50,000 per tonne, derived from consensus market pricing for LED phosphors and lithium-ion battery separator coatings. High-purity alumina sits outside the JORC Code framework; resource and reserve estimates for Lake Hope would be subject to a separate technical audit if a DFS proceeds.

Pilot Plant: The Critical Near-Term Step

The pilot plant at Lake Hope is being commissioned to demonstrate the flowsheet — kaolin dissolution in sulfuric acid, purification through pH adjustment and solvent extraction, and precipitation of high-purity aluminium hydroxide — at sufficient scale for investor and offtake counterparty due diligence. Commissioning is targeted for 30 November 2026. The pilot plant is not a revenue-generating asset; its output will be used for customer sampling and process optimisation. Impact has previously noted that HPA buyers typically require material produced on the exact planned flowsheet before committing to binding offtake contracts.

Other Assets

Alluminous Pty Ltd, a spin-out entity holding a 50% stake in a separate HPA technology, is managed as an investment asset. Impact holds a 30% free-carried interest in the Commonwealth nickel-copper project in Western Australia, managed by Kuniko (51%). Broken Hill tenements in New South Wales are being positioned for monetisation through sale or joint venture. New non-executive director Dr Lana Weldon, an accountant with more than 30 years in accounting and audit, joins the board from the AGM on 30 November — the same day as the pilot plant commissioning target.