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April 28, 2025
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.
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.”
Click here for the Shareholders & Investors Webinar Presentation
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Impact Minerals, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
IPT:AU
27 March
Successful Completion of the Renounceable Rights Issue
Impact Minerals Limited (IPT:AU) has announced Successful Completion of the Renounceable Rights Issue
19 March
Renounceable Rights Issue Closing Date
13 March
Major drill targets identified at the Caligula Prospect
Impact Minerals Limited (IPT:AU) has announced Major drill targets identified at the Caligula Prospect
09 March
NFM: Sale of Broken Hill East Project to Impact Minerals
Impact Minerals Limited (IPT:AU) has announced NFM: Sale of Broken Hill East Project to Impact Minerals
04 March
Update on the Renounceable Rights Issue to raise $5.2M
Impact Minerals Limited (IPT:AU) has announced Update on the Renounceable Rights Issue to raise $5.2M
22h
Eclipse confirms high-value, coarse-grained rare earths at Grønnedal, backed by an efficient processing pathway
Eclipse Metals Limited (ASX: EPM) (Eclipse or the Company) is pleased to confirm that its Grønnedal rare earth elements (REE) Project in southwest Greenland continues to solidify its position as a strategically important and globally significant source of REE. The Project metrics are supported by robust scientific data and including benchmarked mineralogical results.
Project Highlights:
- Dominant synchysite, bastnasite and monazite mineralogy - ideal for Nd-Pr permanent magnet feedstock.
- Coarse-grain size of key REE minerals with up to 54% liberation, supporting low- cost, conventional flotation pathways.
- The defined resource of 89Mt represents approximately 6% of the carbonatite body, with extensive growth potential.
- Niobium ~4,670ppm, Yttrium ~777ppm, and HREE credits enhance the Project’s overall economics.
- Tier-1 Greenland location with deep-water access and no uranium permitting constraints.
- Mineralogical studies provide a strong foundation for upcoming metallurgical and process design work.
A recent mineralogical study completed by SGS Canada has confirmed the presence of high-value rare earth minerals, including Synchysite, Bastnasite and Monazite – highly sought-after hosts of magnet rare earth elements (Nd, Pr, Dy, Tb).
The recent mineralogical assessment returned significantly elevated niobium grades, ranging from <40ppm to 4,670ppm, and yttrium values ranging from 39ppm to 777ppm (refer Appendix 1), highlighting the polymetallic nature of the mineralisation and its potential for enhanced downstream value capture.
Both elements are increasingly sought after for superconductors, defence alloys, and advanced electronics, further elevating Grønnedal’s importance within the global critical minerals ecosystem.
Importantly, the test work confirms that the mineral assemblage is highly amenable to conventional processing, aligning with proven flowsheets successfully applied at other globally recognised REE operations, including Mountain Pass (USA) and Mount Weld (Australia).
Commenting on the SGS mineralogical results, Eclipse Metals Executive Chairman Carl Popal said:
“The Grønnedal REE complex continues to deliver compelling results that reinforce its emerging position as a globally strategic rare earths project. With 89 million tonnes now defined, the combination of scale, favourable mineralogy, coarse grain size and demonstrated processability sets Grønnedal apart as one of the few Western rare earth deposits with a clear pathway toward scalable development.
“The polymetallic nature of the mineralisation, combined with high liberation rates confirmed through advanced mineralogical studies, supports the potential for efficient recovery using well- established processing routes, further strengthening Grønnedal’s relevance to EU and North American critical minerals supply chains.
“Eclipse remains committed to responsible and transparent development in Greenland while advancing the project with a disciplined focus on value creation and global supply chain diversification,”
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Eclipse Metals, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
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17 June
Expert: Can a United Front Loosen China’s Rare Earths and Critical Minerals Hold?
As western automakers reel from yet another round of Chinese export restrictions on rare earths, the urgency to create a counterweight to Beijing’s dominance over global mineral supply chains is reaching new heights.
At the center of the conversation is a persistent and disruptive strategy: Chinese state-backed firms flood global markets with critical minerals, push prices below sustainable production levels and wipe out foreign competition.
In response, experts like Gracelin Baskaran, director of the Critical Minerals Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, are calling for a fundamentally different playbook.
In her view, it's time for nations to coordinate their market power and engage in collective deterrence.
“If countries continue to operate independently instead of collectively, China will retain its dominant position because no single nation has enough market leverage on its own,” Baskaran argues in her recent commentary.
The scale of disruption is difficult to overstate. In just three years, global prices for core energy transition minerals have collapsed. Between May 2022 and May 2025, prices for cobalt fell nearly 60 percent. Nickel prices plunged 73 percent, while lithium prices cratered by almost 87 percent. In each case, price collapses coincided with waves of supply from China or Chinese-backed operations, forcing western producers to shut down or defer investment.
Baskaran further explains that these price dynamics aren’t accidental.
Chinese companies — which often receive subsidies, low-interest loans or direct state support — can afford to operate at near-zero or even negative profit margins, squeezing out foreign firms that need to show a return on capital.
When it comes to rare earths, with 90 percent of refining under its control, China can suppress prices long enough to bankrupt competition, then raise prices once dominance is assured.
For Baskaran, the closure of Jervois Global's (ASX:JRV,OTC Pink:JRVMQ) cobalt mine in Idaho and BHP's (ASX:BHP,NYSE:BHP,LSE:BHP)Nickel West project in Australia illustrate how fragile western efforts are when exposed to this kind of strategic economic pressure.
Tariffs alone won’t cut it
To date, responses from the US have largely focused on domestic industrial policy — subsidies, tax credits and isolated tariffs. But given the country’s relatively small share of global minerals demand — just 1.7 percent for rare earths, for example — US actions alone are unlikely to move the needle.
“While tariffs can be an effective instrument, a single country acting alone is unlikely to make a significant difference for mineral prices given the small size of their offtake markets,” Baskaran stresses.
Instead, she suggests that any meaningful response must involve coordinated policy across a coalition of major consuming nations. The proposed solution is a shared “anchor market” — a bloc of like-minded countries that harmonize tariffs, coordinate investment protections and implement shared procurement rules.
If executed well, she believes this approach could flip the current dynamic, placing reciprocal pressure on China while supporting market conditions where western producers can survive.
“A unified market of this scale would be capable of challenging China’s dominance and providing the West with meaningful strategic leverage,” she adds in her piece.
Such a coalition is not hypothetical. The Minerals Security Partnership (MSP), an initiative involving 14 countries and the EU, already exists to foster cooperation on supply chain resilience.
With a combined market of nearly 2.8 billion people — double the population of China — Baskaran states that the MSP represents a latent force that, if fully activated, could counterbalance Chinese leverage.
Leverage through scale and policy
The power of an anchor market lies in its ability to send long-term price signals and create investor certainty.
Gradual import quotas, for instance, could mandate that a growing share of mineral inputs — starting at 10 percent and scaling to 60 percent over a decade — come from within anchor market countries.
Baskaran explains that unlike tax incentives, which are temporary and non-binding, quotas offer a durable guarantee that demand will materialize, helping de-risk large-scale mineral investments.
Equally important is investment protection. Chinese firms continue to buy up critical minerals assets abroad, even in a weak price environment, ensuring that they control future supply. If this trend continues, any market-based response from the west may simply enrich Chinese shareholders in the long run.
Australia’s key role and the G7’s moment for market unity
Baskaran highlights that, among potential partners, Australia stands out.
With rich deposits of 31 critical minerals and advanced mining capabilities, it is essential to any serious diversification plan. Mining already contributes over 13 percent to its GDP, compared to just over 1 percent in the US.
Politically, Australia has taken a hardline stance on Chinese influence, from banning Huawei in 2018 to imposing university research safeguards and building a state-backed mineral reserve to reduce foreign dependency.
The G7 summit in Canada offers a unique moment to align policy. All G7 countries have identified critical minerals security as a priority. By formalizing the anchor market concept, Baskaran argues that the G7 nations and their partners could finally mount a credible economic counteroffensive: “The anchor market can shift leverage away from Beijing and toward a more resilient, rules-based minerals ecosystem.”
Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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16 June
Burgum Endorses Colosseum Rare Earths Project in Continued Critical Minerals Push
The Trump administration is fast tracking development of Dateline Resources’ (ASX:DTR,OTC Pink:DTREF) Colosseum rare earths project in California as part of its push to boost domestic critical minerals supply.
In a recent interview, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum highlighted the project as a priority under the government's critical minerals strategy, stating that the US has "to get back in the game in a serious way around critical minerals.”
For his part, US President Donald Trump has called the project "America’s second rare earths mine.” He first announced Colosseum's approval in an April 21 Truth Social post, listing it as a weekly achievement.
The Colosseum project sits in the Walker Lane Trend in East San Bernardino County, California, only 10 kilometers north of MP Materials’ (NYSE:MP) Mountain Pass mine, the only operating rare earths mine in the US.
Mountain Pass is also the highest-grade rare earths mine in the world.
According to Burgum, the endorsement from the government stems from the US’ push to restart domestic rare earths production and reduce dependence on other countries such as China.
Currently, China remains the biggest rare earths producer by far, producing 270,000 metric tons in 2024. That’s about 70 percent of the total production for the year, which was recorded at 390,000 metric tons.
The ongoing trade war has created tensions between the US and China, raising questions about supply chain security.
Some relief was seen last week — the BBC reported that China has agreed to supply US companies with magnets and rare earths as part of Trump’s deal with Xi Jinping, president of China. In return, the US said it will walk back its threats to revoke the visas of Chinese nationals at US colleges and universities.
Trump addressed the arrangement via a June 11 Truth Social update, stating that he has “always been good” with including Chinese students in colleges and universities.
Dateline has a green light to explore and extract rare earths from Colosseum, as well as gold.
“We have seen growing interest out of the US, particularly after recent milestones at Colosseum,” the Sydney Morning Herald quotes Dateline Managing Director Stephen Baghdadi as saying.
Dateline said in May that it had started the process to uplist to the OTCQB. Should the OTCQB listing go through, the company will still continue to meet its ASX disclosure requirements.
The same month, the company said it had begun preparations for a rare earths-focused drill program at Colosseum, and would complete it alongside a planned gold feasibility study for the site.
Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time news updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Gabrielle de la Cruz, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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12 June
Australian Strategic Reports Bump in Rare Earths Sales Enquiries
Australian Strategic Materials (ASX:ASM,OTC Pink:ASMMF) has confirmed the sale of neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr) metal and neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) alloy to its key partners.
Supply came from the company's critical metals facility in South Korea's Ochang Foreign Investment Zone. Located 115 kilometres south of Seoul, the plant opened in May 2022 and is Australian Strategic's flagship metallisation plant.
According to Australian Strategic, it is the only ASX-listed company capable of producing rare earth metals and alloys commercially. The plant is one of the few facilities outside of China capable of producing the high-tech metals and alloys needed for clean energy technologies, advanced manufacturing, defence and aerospace.
Australian Strategic shared that recent work carried out at the plant, together with ongoing trade and geopolitical uncertainty, has resulted in numerous sales enquiries and customer discussions.
“As rare earth supply chains face increasing vulnerability due to China’s export restrictions, ASM is continuing to develop existing and potential customer relationships, positioned to deliver an alternative supply to the rest of world," the company explains in a press release issued on June 6.
Its customers include big and small permanent magnet manufacturers in South Korea, the US and Europe
Australian Strategic also revealed that it will use existing stock and oxides from an Australian supplier to meet demand, and is currently in discussions with Canada-based Ucore Rare Metals (TSXV:UCU,OTCQX:UURAF) for more oxide supply.
In Australia, rare earths have increasingly been in demand, with the government looking to secure rare earths independence using various tactics. These include project investments, strategic partnerships and tax incentives.
Australian Strategic received AU$5 million for its Dubbo rare earths project under the Australian government’s International Partnerships in Critical Minerals Program in October 2024.
As of 2025, Australia ranks fourth in both rare earths reserves and output.
Recently, Lynas Rare Earths (ASX:LYC,OTC Pink:LYSCF), the world’s only producer of separated rare earths outside of China, became the first producer of heavy rare earths outside China after starting production at its Malaysian facility.
Australian Strategic will continue to work with relevant partners and update the market as further sales occur.
“In recent months, ASM’s position as one of the leading ex-China producers of NdPr metal and NdFeB alloy has been cemented,” Managing Director and CEO Rowena Smith commented.
“Having navigated rigorous validation processes with existing and potential customers, proving our capability and product quality, we are now in a position to leverage our growing experience and reputation in the industry.”
Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Australia for real-time news updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Gabrielle de la Cruz, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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11 June
Change of Director's Interest Notice (T Sage)
11 June
Widespread Natural Rutile Observed Throughout the Central Rutile Tenement Package
DY6 Metals Ltd (ASX: DY6, “DY6” or “Company”) is pleased to announce the initial results from the reconnaissance exploration program at the Central Rutile Project, Cameroon. Desktop studies incorporating detailed geological mapping, geophysics, and known mineral occurrences, were used to define initial, high priority targets for ground-truthing. The reconnaissance programme, which consisted of auger sampling, road-cutting channel sampling, soil sampling and stream sediment sampling, was successful in identifying heavy mineral (HM) and natural rutile mineralisation across all five tenements that make up the Central Rutile project. Rutile nuggets, ranging in size from 1mm+ to 2cm+, were observed in alluvial and eluvial (residual) sources. Samples collected from the initial exploration programme are currently being prepped for dispatch to the Company’s laboratory for analysis in South Africa, with results expected in August 2025.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Reconnaissance auger and grab sampling programme nearing completion at the Central Rutile Project, with a detailed soil sampling programme to commence shortly
- Soil sampling programme will be used to rapidly identify areas of higher grade HM and rutile mineralisation, which will be followed up on with a large auger drilling campaign in the September quarter
- Reconnaissance sampling undertaken across the 5 Central Rutile Project tenements has identified visible natural rutile from both alluvial and eluvial (residual) sources
- The identification of rutile across the entire tenement package is highly encouraging and reaffirms the Company’s belief that the region is an emerging, globally significant rutile province
- Samples collected from the reconnaissance program are due to be submitted for laboratory analysis in the coming weeks, with results expected in the September quarter
- The Company’s reconnaissance program at the Douala Basin HMS Project is ongoing, with initial results expected in the coming weeks
Non-executive Chairman, Dan Smith, commented:
“The in-country team has done a great job of mobilising to site so quickly. We are pleased with the initial results from the reconnaissance program at the Central Rutile project and the confirmation of widespread, natural rutile across the licences from both residual and alluvial sources. I look forward to the receipt of the assays in the coming months, as well as results from the ongoing exploration at the Douala Basin project.”
Technical Consultant, Cliff Fitzhenry, commented:
“The Central Rutile project covers a large (2,140km2) area, so this initial reconnaissance programme has only just scratched the surface of the potential for this area. We always knew the licences were in the right address, having the correct underlying geology, deep in-situ weathering profile, and known, historic rutile occurrences. The solid work of the in-country team, in conjunction with our Senior Exploration Geologist, Troth Saindi, is already paying dividends. Having achieved our initial goals, exploration at the Central Rutile project will shift from reconnaissance in nature to that of a detailed soil sampling programme. This will allow us to achieve greater coverage over the tenement package and will help to rapidly define zones of higher grade heavy mineral occurrences, which will be followed up with a large-scale auger sampling programme.
I am excited to get on the ground as soon as possible to help drive the exploration work as the project story unfolds.”
Reconnaissance exploration at the Central Rutile Project
As announced on 5 June 2025, the Company has commenced reconnaissance auger and grab sampling programmes at the Central Rutile and Douala Basin HMS projects, Cameroon. To date, at the Central Rutile Project the Company has completed 3 auger drill holes (refer Figure 1), collecting 10 samples in the process, as well as collected 42 channel samples from 7 road cutting exposures, 1 surface grab sample and 2 stream sediment samples for analysis (refer Tables 1-4).
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from DY6 Metals, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
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