inco and apg 2003

20 November 2003

AUSTRALIAN STOCK EXCHANGE ANNOUNCEMENT

INCO TO EVALUATE AUSTPAC’S EARS PROCESS FOR
THE GORO NICKEL PROJECT

Austpac is pleased to announce that it has signed a Letter of Intent with Inco Limited
(Inco, formerly International Nickel) under which Inco will evaluate Austpac’s EARS
hydrochloric acid regeneration process for use in the Goro nickel project in New
Caledonia. The significance for Austpac is:
· A technical alliance with the world’s second largest nickel producer,
· It is a new industry application for Austpac’s technologies, in addition to the
titanium mineral sands and the steel industries
· If implemented at Goro, the EARS plant will be one of the largest acid
regeneration plants in the world
Austpac patented the EARS process in 1992 and since that time has refined the
technology, primarily for the processing of iron chloride solutions generated by
leaching ilmenite in the Company’s ERMS SR synthetic rutile process. Inco plans to
assess the EARS process for converting nickel chloride solutions into pure nickel
oxides and hydrochloric acid and over recent months has been examining the
potential of the EARS process to significantly reduce the capital and operating costs
of this section of the Goro project. The Letter of Intent cements the relationship
between Austpac and Inco and a formal agreement will be finalised over the next
two months, details of which are in commercial confidence.
A staged testwork program is now underway at Austpac’s pilot plant on Kooragang
Island, Newcastle. This will initially evaluate the EARS system for the pelletising and
pyrohydrolysis of nickel chlorides using existing equipment. The work is scheduled
for completion by December 2003. If successful the pilot plant will be modified to
allow fully integrated testing of the EARS process at Kooragang Island early in 2004.
Austpac Managing Director, Mike Turbott said, “This is a new application for our
EARS process, and emphasizes the broadening scope for the Company’s diverse
technologies. In the event that the EARS process is selected for the Goro project,
that facility will be one of the largest acid regeneration plants in the world, handling
around 700,000 tonnes of regenerated acid per year. This is twice the capacity of an
EARS plant required for a 100,000 tpa ERMS SR plant, so the early
commercialisation of the EARS process will also benefit Austpac’s synthetic rutile
and iron co-product development programs”.