• The option over the Pippingarra project now runs to 24 October 2028, rather than expiring on 24 October 2026.
  • The extension carries a minimum expenditure commitment of $200,000 for testwork, feasibility studies and commercial negotiations.
  • The project has a maiden JORC Inferred Mineral Resource of 6.2 million tonnes at 98 per cent silicon dioxide; the company has not exercised the option.

Industrial Minerals Ltd (ASX:IND) has extended by 24 months its option over the Pippingarra Quarry high purity quartz project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The option, held with North West Quarries Pty Ltd (NWQ), now runs to 24 October 2028 rather than expiring on 24 October 2026. The company has not exercised the option, so it does not yet own an interest in the project.

The extension terms

According to the announcement, the extension adds 24 months to the option period and carries a minimum expenditure commitment of $200,000 over that period. The company says the money is for testwork, feasibility studies and commercial negotiations. All other terms of the option agreement are unchanged.

The agreement was executed in October 2023 with an initial period to 24 October 2025. A first 12-month extension, announced on 5 August 2025, took it to 24 October 2026, and the latest extension takes it two years beyond that. The original agreement was executed on 25 October 2023 and announced on 27 October 2023; these dates refer to separate events.

What the option covers

Under the original terms, Industrial Minerals holds an exclusive option to acquire an 80 per cent interest in the non-construction material mineral rights at Pippingarra, which include high purity quartz. It paid NWQ a $50,000 cash option fee on execution and agreed to spend at least $100,000 a year on exploration during the initial term.

If the company exercises the option, it will issue $100,000 of fully paid ordinary shares to NWQ, and an incorporated joint venture will be formed with Industrial Minerals as manager holding 80 per cent and NWQ 20 per cent. NWQ keeps full rights to quarry granite and other construction materials for its existing operations. Exercise is at the company's discretion, and the announcement does not say whether or when it intends to exercise.

Project and work to date

Pippingarra is a granted Mining Lease with existing quarry operations and infrastructure, about 35 kilometres from Port Hedland. The company reports a maiden JORC (2012) Inferred Mineral Resource, announced on 29 October 2025, of 6.2 million tonnes at 98 per cent silicon dioxide.

Industrial Minerals says it has invested about $874,000 since October 2023. Work completed includes two phases of reverse circulation drilling, the maiden resource estimate, a three-dimensional drone survey and digital terrain model, and a subsurface survey. Bulk quartz processing and ore-sorting testwork, announced on 31 March 2025, returned results the company describes as positive, indicating potential recovery of quartz, feldspar and mica as co-products. It says it has also been engaging with potential partners in China and the wider Asia-Pacific region and has prepared further bulk samples.

Next steps and limits

The company lists four next steps: advancing offtake discussions with potential customers, progressing processing testwork, assessing infill drilling to upgrade the Mineral Resource, and advancing studies on development pathways, including feasibility studies. The announcement gives no dates, budgets beyond the $200,000 minimum, or confirmed offtake agreements.

Managing Director Warrick Clent described the extension as a clear vote of confidence from NWQ. That is the company's own characterisation, and NWQ's manager, Craig Bridgman, said NWQ was pleased to extend the agreement and looked forward to the project advancing.

Several points remain outstanding. The resource is in the Inferred category, which carries lower geological confidence, and no economic study has been reported. Whether the quartz can meet customer specifications at commercial scale has not been demonstrated in this announcement.

Industrial Minerals also holds the Laverton Gold Project, acquired in August 2026, and other quartz and silica sand projects in Western Australia, which are unrelated to this extension.