Sunrise Resources upbeat on pozzolan test results

(Sharecast News) - Sunrise Resources announced positive test results from recent commercial concrete pours using natural pozzolan from its CS Pozzolan-Perlite Deposit in Nevada on Tuesday, with two commercial pours carried out by a "large" cement and ready-mix company as due diligence towards a commercial agreement.
The AIM-traded firm said the results were "positive", with preliminary results showing early strength gains in excess of target strengths.

It added that seven-day concrete strengths exceeded the 24-day target strengths after just a week of curing.

Looking at its perlite operations, meanwhile, Sunrise said all customer trials for the expansion of horticultural-grade perlite was now completed for the 100-ton bulk sample.

All trial results had now been received, with the most recent customer trial considered successful.

"We are delighted to be announcing these exciting results which come after a number of frustrating delays," said executive chairman Patrick Cheetham.

"The preliminary results from the concrete pours using CS natural pozzolan are first-rate and, we anticipate, will provide the basis for a more structured arrangement with the cement company carrying out this work.

"Interest in using the CS natural pozzolan in concrete continues to grow and a number of additional companies have requested samples in recent weeks, no doubt driven by the bleak long-term outlook for coal fly ash supplies in the US."

Looking ahead, Cheetham said the company believed that the $1.2trn infrastructure spending stimulus recently passed by the US Senate and president Joe Biden, together with Biden's climate plan, would give further impetus to pozzolan demand, and so the firm was looking at possibilities to grow by acquiring additional pozzolan deposits "favourably located" for other regional centres of concrete demand in the western United States.

"Whilst development of the perlite for uses other than for natural pozzolan is the smaller of the two business opportunities at the CS Project, we are pleased to have received great feedback from the most recent customer trials of our horticultural grade raw perlite, and look forward to advancing this and other production options in tandem with the production of natural pozzolan."

At 1058 BST, shares in Sunrise Resources were up 4.91% at 0.23p.