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iMinerals Inc.
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iMinerals Inc.
All rights reserved.
December 4, 2014
Vancouver, B.C. (December 4, 2014) - I-Minerals Inc. (TSX.V: IMA; OTCQX: IMAHF) (“the Company” or “I-Minerals”)
is pleased to announce results from laboratory and field testing of its
Metakaolin product. Metakaolin is a natural pozzolan that is used as a
partial replacement or an additive for cement in construction where
high strength is needed. Testing completed to date according to ASTM
Standards include: ASR Reaction, Chemical and Physical Analysis of a
Natural Pozzolan, Accelerated Pozzolan Strength Activity, particle size
assessment, compressive strength, and Rapid Chloride Ion Permeability
test.
“The test results received to date, together with the customer feedback
adds further validation to the market price and product demand
assumptions incorporated in our Pre-Feasibility Study,” stated Thomas
Conway President and CEO of I-Minerals Inc. “The potential for sales
beyond those included in the PFS is strong as we are bringing a quality
product into an underserviced market given transportation costs have
priced metakaolin out of many market opportunities.”
Metakaolin increases compressive strength, reduces permeability and
efflorescence, (1) increases resistance to chemical attack, increases
durability, reduces the effects of alkali-silica reactivity (“ASR”) (2),
enhances workability and finishing of concrete and reduces shrinkage,
due to “particle packing” making concrete denser. Initial results are
favorable and indicate that I-Minerals Metakaolin improves the
characteristics of the concrete and has significant ASR reducing
capabilities. Feedback from groups testing the product including
Magmatics, Inc. , Milad City, Idaho, CTL Thompson, Denver, Colorado and
Pre-Mix, Inc. of Pullman, Washington indicated that grinding the product
to a finer particle size will increase the reactivity levels resulting
in even greater compressive strengths and reactivity. Based upon this
feedback, I-Minerals has amended the production process for pilot plant
scale Metakaolin production at Ginn Mineral Research to produce a finer
grain Metakaolin product.
Metakaolin is one of four mineral products planned to be produced at
I-Minerals Helmer-Bovill property, with the other minerals being K-spar,
quartz and halloysite. Metakaolin is created by calcining a suitable
kaolin to approximately 700° C in a rotary kiln. Currently there are
no producers of a high reactivity metakaolin in the Pacific Northwest.
Markets being targeted by I-Minerals for its metakaolin product include
high performance, high strength, and lightweight concrete, precast and
poured-mold concrete and fibercement and ferrocement products and glass
fiber reinforced concrete. A key market going forward is highways
jurisdictions in areas where the aggregate used in the concrete is
highly reactive for applications such as recapping bridge decks where
the increased strength and reduced permeability is predicted to reduce
longer term maintenance costs.
“Grinding the kaolin to a finer particle size prior to calcining is a
simple change to our production flow sheet,” continued Mr. Conway.
“Given our northwestern Idaho location we expect to be very competitive
in our target markets given the alternate metakaolin sources are in
Georgia which brings with it much higher transportation costs and among
other pozzalons, fly ash, a by-product of coal combustion is not as
environmentally friendly. None of this is lost on some of the Pacific
Northwest concrete suppliers that are already showing strong interest in
our metakaolin product.”
A. Lamar Long, CPG, is a qualified person (“QP”) for I-Minerals Inc. and has reviewed and approved the contents of this release.