Pre-Feasibility Studies on Track as Flora and Fauna Studies Reveal No Threatened or Priority Species of Concern at the Lake Hope High Purity Alumina Deposit, WA

Impact Minerals Limited's (ASX:IPT) is pleased to announce that Pre-Feasibility Studies on Track as Flora and Fauna Studies Reveal No Threatened or Priority Species of Concern at the Lake Hope High Purity Alumina Deposit, WA.

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• Baseline environmental surveys indicate no Threatened or Priority species of flora and fauna are present on the Lake Hope salt pan.
  
• A few protected species are present around parts of the proposed site logistics but will have no material effect on mine planning.
• Together with previous Heritage Clearance by the Ngadju Aboriginal group, these surveys will support a Mining Lease application and guide environmental and Aboriginal Cultural Heritage management plans.
• Highly regarded Indigenous Services Australia (ISA), led by Tony Shaw and Carola Verschuren appointed to establish a long-term relationship with the Ngadju group upon whose lands the project is located, and with a view to establishing an access agreement and cultural heritage management plan.
• David English appointed to lead the Pre-Feasibility Study at Lake Hope. David helped lead the feasibility studies and development of both Sandfire Resources’ De Grussa Project and Sirius Resources’ Nova-Bollinger Project, both known for record times from discovery to production.
• Metallurgical test work is continuing.
• The Pre-Feasibility Study is scheduled for completion in Q4 2024.
• Drill results from other lakes in the area have been received and are being interpreted.

Impact’s Managing Director, Dr Mike Jones, said, “The results of the flora and fauna baseline surveys further confirm that the environmental impact of our proposed development of the Lake Hope alumina deposit will be exceptionally small. Given that mining will only leave a hole about one to two metres deep in the lake, the environmental risk and any post-mine rehabilitation are considered to be minimal at this stage.

We are also pleased to announce the appointment of Indigenous Services Australia to help with our discussions and negotiations with the Ngadju Aboriginal group upon whose lands the Lake Hope project is located. ISA played a pivotal role in negotiating a mining agreement between the Ngadju people and Sirius Resources (now IGO) for the Nova-Bollinger mine near Norseman.

In addition, we have appointed a well-respected and very experienced Feasibility Study manager for Lake Hope, Mr David English. David helped lead the teams that developed both the De Grussa copper mine (Sandfire Resources) and the Nova-Bollinger nickel-copper mine and he was instrumental in getting both projects to production in near-record times. David has already added significantly to the team and our forward plans, and we are on schedule to complete the PFS by the end of the year.

David’s appointment has allowed Roland Gotthard, who discovered Lake Hope and developed the metallurgical processes to produce HPA from lake mud, to focus on the metallurgical test work and accelerate end-product development. We look forward to announcing the results of that on-going work”.

Figure 1. Location of the Lake Hope Project (northernmost red star). Lake Hope is one of five exploration licences owned by Playa One Pty Limited, in which Impact has the right to earn an 80% interest (ASX Release March 21st 2023)

Baseline flora and fauna studies have not identified any Threatened or Priority species in and around the salt lakes that host the alumina-bearing mud at Impact Minerals Limited’s Lake Hope project, located 500 km east of Perth in Western Australia (Figure 1). Together with the already-received Heritage Clearance from the Ngadju Aboriginal people, this is a further significant milestone on Impact’s journey to producing High-Purity Alumina (HPA) from the aluminous mud at Lake Hope.

The surveys, which were undertaken by Biota Environmental Sciences, were completed in the spring season in late 2023 and were focused on E63/2086, which contains the Lake Hope alumina deposit. The studies covered the deposit, which lies in the top two metres of two salt pans and the surrounding areas, small areas of which will be required for site logistics, mainly haulage roads and stockpiles and temporary accommodation.

A few species that will require an environmental management plan are present in a few places close to some of the proposed site logistics but will not have a material effect on development. Further surveys will be completed in these areas and also along the route of the proposed haul road to the Norseman-Hyden road in due course.

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