Kula Gold Limited made a significant discovery of Kaolin and Halloysite during RC Drilling on its Marvel-Loch Airfield Gold Project tenement in July 2021, when drilling intersected thick >42m vertical kaolin clay development over the 300m drilled length, creating the Boomerang Kaolin Project.

After follow up drilling programs in late 2021 and early 2022, the Company announced in July 2022 the maiden JORC Resource Estimate of a total resource of 93.3mt of Kaolinised Granite, which is made up of an indicated resource of 15.2mt and an inferred resource of 78.1mt. The orebody is open laterally in all directions.

The JORC 2012 resource estimate which has been independently certified by Sedgman has verified the resource values for the Boomerang Kaolin Deposit as follows:

The Boomerang Kaolin Prospect lies in a favourable location, being ~25km from the Kalgoorlie water pipeline and Highway 94 Perth to Kalgoorlie, and 42km to the Southern Cross rail yard.

⛏️ Exploration Updates at the Boomerang Kaolin Project prior to JORC Resource Estimate delivered in July 2022.

The prospect was generated following all three initial RC holes (21BMRC001 – 21BMRC003) intersecting +42m average vertical thickness of white kaolin clays from 5m depth. RC hole 21BMRC001 returned 10m @ 7% Halloysite from 40m depth (8.8m true thickness) within a 55m downhole intercept of kaolin from 5m depth (refer ASX Release 13th July 2021).

The company believed the Exploration Target is between 30 and 100Mt of kaolin material based on the current thickness and the nature of the process that forms the wide zones of kaolin in weathered granite, and conducted follow up drilling programs in late 2021 through early 2022.

The SEM imaging by CSIRO (Adelaide) confirms the Halloysite in hole 21BMRC001 to be present as tubes.

White Kaolin Clays at the Boomerang Kaolin Prospect from 5 to 60m 21BMRC001

Cross Section of the Boomerang prospect RC drilling showing thick zones of Kaolin clays.

⛏️ Drilling Program End 2021

• An RC drilling program to test the kaolin and halloysite resource potential at Boomerang was conducted in November-December 2021 with 52 RC holes (2,887m) drilled. Logging of RC holes to date show the white kaolin clays have an average vertical thickness of 29m, intercepted from around 5.7m below surface.

Stark Drilling Rig 1 set up at the Boomerang Prospect showing kaolin clays in sample piles.

Map showing location of completed RC holes, coloured by depth of vertical kaolin intercept (as determined by geologist on rig), and location of remaining planned drillholes.

⛏️ Drilling Program January – March 2022

• A follow up RC and diamond drilling program at the Boomerang Kaolin Prospect for resource and metallurgical test work was completed between January and March 2022, with RC holes drilled deeper for underlying gold targets.

⛏️ Kula Gold Limited’s next steps:

• Commenced business planning including evaluating a variety of products that may be able to be produced.
• Sedgman have been appointed to manage the metallurgical test work.
• Hyland Geological and Mining Consultants (“HGMC”) have been appointed to complete the resource
  estimation.

For the latest from the Boomerang Kaolin Prospect – refer to the News Releases located on this page.

Cannacord Genuity published an Australian Equity Research paper on Kaolin and High Purity Alumina in August 2021 – you can read the PDF here:

World Markets for Kaolin.

Kaolin is a white, soft, plastic clay composed mainly of kaolinite, Al4(OH)8[Si4O10], and other related clay minerals such as nacrite and dickite (Baker & Uren 1982). Primary kaolin tends to be well-ordered, with a high degree of crystallinity, forming a dense texture of semi-plastic clay. It forms in response to anhydrous aluminium silicate alteration in feldsparrich rocks by weathering or hydrothermal processes.

Many kaolin deposits have been significantly upgraded by post-depositional weathering and diagenesis that have removed much of the original impurities — such as carbonaceous material and iron minerals — and have allowed extensive recrystallisation of the kaolinite to take place. Kaolin is produced by more than 50 countries.

The main exporters of refined (filler-grade) kaolin for high-quality markets, including paper, plastics and paints, are the USA, Great Britain, Brazil, and Germany. Major suppliers of low-to medium-quality kaolin used in applications such as refractories and ceramics include China, Colombia, South Korea, Uzbekistan and Ukraine.

Halloysite.

This is similar to kaolinite but with variable amounts of water (H2O) between the layers and composed of long, slender, tube-like crystals.

Chemically inert, nonabrasive and in possession of a number of characteristics make this commodity highly desirable for use in a broad range of industries including paper and paperboard, ceramics, fibreglass, paints and coatings, plastics, rubber, pharmaceuticals and medical, cosmetics, concrete and agriculture.

High Purity Alumina (“HPA”)

HPA is a non-metallurgical premium alumina product characterised by a minimum purity of 99.99% (4N). It is produced from Kaolin processing it through a variety of metallurgical processes to produce a 4N product.

HPA is used as a base material in the manufacture of a variety of products including:

• Light Emitting Diodes (LED’s);

• Electronic displays;

• Separator between cathode and anode in EV and rechargeable batteries -specifically the growing EV market. This is a highly important consideration for EV batteries, as HPA purity is critical to prevent battery ageing.

Kaolinite vs Halloysite Structures and an example of platy kaolin and Halloysite tubes in SEM image on right.

⛏️ Kula Gold Limited Chairman Mark Stowell appeared on The Market Herald’s Deal Room in July 2021 to discuss the company’s significant Kaolin-Halloysite find at the Boomerang Prospect at Southern Cross.

Watch Mark discuss the find as well as the practical uses for Kaolin and what the infrastructure is like at Southern Cross.

Latest Boomerang Kaolin News