Ann: WAK Investor Presentation, page-35

Being a cityslicker, I imagined a 25k commute to be significant, and I worried that the only settlement within that distance from the mine was Wickepin, which has a population of 300. Having spent three weeks in Warroona, where I have family, I realised that the folk in rural WA have a different attitude to commuting. Also, the plant is highly automated, and the fellow who I spoke to said he could monitor the plant from wherever he was, suggesting that he may not go to the mine site every working day. I did not have time to pursue that conversation, and as I had by then expunged the recruitment-retention problem from my mind, I had no need to dwell on it.

On your "No shortage of sunshine in area" comment, Andrew pointed out an area where a solar farm was planned in order to reduce gass consumption in the daylight hours. I could be wrong, but I think he memtioned two hectares. A 16 September 2021 ASX Announcement stated. “It is the Company’s intention in 2022 to source renewable solutions which will include solar panels to reduce the fuel used in the thermal generation plant, the engineering for which will be based on the first 6 months of operating data from the kaolin beneficiation plant.”

We passed a $600,000+ Bell dump truck that Andrew said replaced a dry-hire truck used previously, and the under-roof storage facility is in place to keep stockpiles of ore dry, and thus reduce drying expense. This has been Announced thus, “ . . . to reduce drying costs and store a 2-3 week supply of dry ore during the wet season following the completion of a $1 million undercover ore store at the project site.” The plant and the shed have a large rain catchment capacity, which with piped water is currently used for dust-suppression on access roads in summer.

On the topic of water, I did not discuss delamination, because I figured it would be a water-light process that recycled much of the water used. I forgot to ask Andrew if when Stage 2 is built, would the delamination module be part of the build, or a later add-on. Some time in 2025 there will be a second plant. My guesstimate has been that this should happen by January 2025, because Stage 1 should be running at full capacity. However, it could happen in late 2024. It is a question of demand and cashflow to fund CAPEX.

I know that Brazilian kaolin has an anatase discolouration issue – not serious discolouration, but it could give WAK an edge in the high-end Japanese paper market. I had always known that WAK has a very low level of discolouration, but WAK had never specifically mentioned anatase as an issue. Anyhow, WAK's kaolin does not have an anatase issue. Anatase is titanium dioxide, which is not a discolourant, but in clays it is often tinted with traces of iron oxide that is difficult to remove, and which imparts light brown-yellow discolouration. The Japanese have a cultural issue with paper, and the whiteness thereof for some paper products.