AUM follow (ASX 245087): The Company’s aim of constructing a demonstration plant and proving the technology has now been completed. The proof of the technology now opens the gates to assisting solve the massive acid mine drainage problems around the world. There is currently no technology or treatment method viable for the recovery of copper from acid mine drainage, and this is causing massive environmental problems globally... The Company proposes to approach the Queensland State Government in relation to the acid mine drainage flowing from the Mt Morgan Copper Mine in Queensland. The AUM SX Columns can remove all copper from the Mt Morgan flows and assist in remediating the acid mine drainage. There are thousands of acid mine drainage flows from old copper mine mulloch and waste heaps. The Company is awaiting the Tasmanian Government to pass the Mt Lyell Pollution bill to allow AUM to commence remediation of the acid mine drainage flow of 500,000 litres per hour containing copper and other metals flowing from the Mt Lyell Mine in Tasmania. ..The Company has commenced discussions with a major copper producer regarding installing the SX Columns as a secondary plant to recover low grade copper being pumped to tailings dams after primary copper removal. The AUM SX Columns can recover at less than 0.1 gram per litre of copper by installing the columns in the discharge line from the primary plant. The capex and operating costs are expected to be very low such that the additional copper recovery could add significantly to the profitability of copper mining operations.
Fungicide Market – A Value Adding Strategy Due to the excellent quality of the copper sulphate pentahydrate crystals being produced by the new technology, the Company is developing a value adding strategy, utilizing the AUM SX Column Technology, of converting copper sulphate to a fungicide for sale into the Australian Domestic Copper Fungicide packaging market. Product for this market is currently sourced solely from overseas. The total import of the packaged domestic market is $39 million per year for duty purposes prior to taxes and retail markup. This does not include the commercial bulk agriculture market, which is far greater.
