WA Kaolin Ltd. provided an update on recent activities at the Wickepin Kaolin Project in Western Australia. Following progress during the current quarter, WA Kaolin is tracking towards achieving Stage 1 nameplate capacity of ~200,000 tonnes per annum. The Company holds the Wickepin Kaolin Project, 200km south-east of Perth, which has a 644.5 million tonne Mineral Resource, including an Ore Reserve Estimate of 30.5 million tonnes of kaolinised granite.

WA Kaolin produces kaolin products for tier one customers and the Company aims to expand its production from the Wickepin Project to 400,000tpa in a two-stage expansion strategy. First production from Wickepin Stage 1 commenced in September 2022, with production steadily increasing towards ~200,000 tonnes per annum rate in the months since. The processing plant at Wickepin Kaolin Project was completed in October on budget.

The processing plant has been constructed to utilise WA Kaolin's proprietary dry processing method, the `K99 Process', developed by the Company specifically for the high-grade Wickepin kaolin resource. The K99 Process produces an ultra-bright, high-quality kaolin product at a low cost, in comparison to other methods which rely on chemical bleaching and multiple wet mechanical and magnetic separation methods. Currently, production of the K99S and K99C grades is ramping up with operations on track to perform sustainably at nameplate capacity by the end of FY2023.

Wickepin is now consistently producing K99F, a finer particle size grade, with work continuing to increase throughput of this product through incremental plant tuning and equipment upgrades. Recently, production of K999P, the finest grade produced at Wickepin, commenced with WA Kaolin aiming to successfully ramp up output of this grade within weeks. The Wickepin Kaolin Project recently hosted a site visit comprising a delegation of Asian and European customers, which provided positive feedback regarding opportunities for business development.

With travel restriction in China easing, WA Kaolin has also recently completed a successful visit to meet with current and prospective customers in the Asian nation.