King River able to become a significant high-value alumina producer, finds a prefeasibility study

A prefeasibility study (PFS) for high purity alumina (HPA) project in the Kwinana industrial area, West Australia, has found that ASX-listed King River Resources can be a significant producer of high-value purity alumina. 

 The HPA project will use King River’s ARC process to produce the high purity alumina from an industrial chemical feedstock. According to PFS estimation, the project will require a capital investment of A$203.4 million to support a production rate of 9000 tonnes per year of 4N purity. 

In the next 25 years, the project is estimated to have annual earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization of A$ 193-million, an annual pre-tax free cash flow of A$190 million, and projected revenues of A$7.02 billion. 

The HPA project’s net present value before tax is estimated at A$1.04 billion, with a pre-tax internal rate of return of 50.8 per cent. 

“The completion of the Kwinana HPA PFS is an important milestone for King River, and confirms the project is getting well positioned to become a global HPA participant,” said King River chairperson Anthony Barton.

He added, “This PFS has effectively endorsed the company’s strategy to initially focus on entering the global HPA market, then consider developments at a later date of higher high value/high purity commodities sourced from the Speewah vanadium/titanium and fluorspar deposits.”

He also said, “These very positive study outcomes support the Kwinana project’s transition immediately towards a more detailed definitive feasibility study.”