ChemX awarded further patent for HiPurA

Chemical processing company ChemX Materials has announced a New Zealand patent for its HiPurA process for creating high-purity alumina (HPA), as well as delays on equipment for the build of its pilot plant.

In a statement to the ASX on Monday, ChemX said it anticipated further international patents to be granted following the new notice of grant from the NZ Intellectual Property Office (NZIPO.)

The company aims to supply 4N (99.99 per cent) and 5N (99.999 per cent) purity levels for customers including in the LED, semiconductor and electrical vehicle sectors.

High-purity alumina (HPA) is used in applications including coatings for lithium ion battery separators, LED production, and synthetic sapphire production.

According to the company it has produced HPA at better than 4N levels of purity during micro plant test work. It plans to both sell HPA and licence HiPurA.

It is currently building a pilot plant at O’Connor, Western Australia for HiPurA, with capacity listed as 24 tpa.

Updating investors on the plant, it said a leach module had been successfully commissioned and remains in a state of operational readiness, though a solvent extraction module had been hit by delays on “key process equipment and delivery of electrical infrastructure.”

According to the company’s website, early-stage commissioning of the pilot plant commenced in June.

Operational readiness had also been achieved in the plant’s precipitation, drying and calcination areas, and ChemX said it expected reagent delivery systems to achieve operational readiness status in October 2024. Other key statutory activities – including “waste-water disposal permitting and chemical storage & handling permitting pre requisites” – were “advancing well”.

CEO Peter Lee added:  “Electrical infrastructure installation now determines the critical path for commissioning of the HiPurA HPA Pilot Plant and ChemX is working with its contractor and suppliers to ensure this [is] delivered as soon as  possible.

“The company has increased investment in enhanced process safety and control systems to support permitting of the various licenses linked to commissioning of the HiPurA Pilot Plant processes.”

Picture: credit ChemX

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