RNS22 Jan 2018 10:05
SUNRISE RESOURCES PLC
("Sunrise" or "the Company")
22 January 2018
PROJECT UPDATES
Sunrise Resources plc, the AIM-traded company focusing on the development of its CS Pozzolan-Perlite Project in Nevada, USA, is pleased to provide the following project updates:
CS Pozzolan-Perlite Project, Nevada, USA
Latest Pozzolan Test Work Results Highly Positive:
� Tests on Sunrise's CS (natural) pozzolan show that the product mitigates the negative impact of "concrete cancer".
� The performance of CS pozzolan places it amongst the best natural pozzolans available on the market.
The Company has now received independent certification testwork results for three composite samples of its natural pozzolan demonstrating that they can significantly reduce "concrete cancer".
A form of concrete cancer is the expansion and consequential cracking and potential structural failure that can occur when alkalis in the Portland cement react with common aggregates containing reactive silica. This is the so-called "Alkali-Silica Reaction" (ASR). ASR is a major concern for cement and concrete producers and their customers.
Commenting today, Executive Chairman Patrick Cheetham said: "This is a very important milestone in our testwork. The CS pozzolan was tested using some of the most reactive aggregates known in the western USA. Substituting 25% CS natural pozzolan for Portland cement gave an average 96% reduction in expansion compared to control samples using 100% Portland cement after the prescribed 14 days test period. The performance of the CS pozzolans in this test places it amongst the best commercially available pozzolans, industrial or natural, and will assist the Company in positioning its products in the market."
As advised in the Company's recent Annual Report, pozzolan testing has moved on from strength testing, where samples from all pozzolan zones have consistently exceeded the ASTM strength requirements, to more advanced testing of three "master" composite samples from areas that are expected to fall within potential starter-pit operations. The three master samples are a tuff sample from the Tuff Zone, a perlite sample from the Main Zone and a tephra sample from the Main Zone.
As also advised the more advanced testing will evaluate various properties of the CS pozzolan that can assist the Company in determining value relative to other pozzolans. Perhaps the most critical of these properties are those that relate to the ability of the pozzolan to mitigate the widespread problem of ASR.
Pozzolans have been proven to reduce (mitigate) ASR and the extent to which this potential expansion is reduced is tested under ASTM Standard C15671. ASTM C1567 measures the expansion of a mortar bar made with cementitious materials and aggregates in a hot alkaline water bath. In this cas