Andromeda Metals Ltd (ASX: ADN) shares are edging higher in early trade after the company heralded news regarding its crown jewel – the Great White deposit. At the time of writing, the Andromeda share price is trading 2.38% higher at 21.5 cents.
Shareholders will be grateful for the positive update, with Andromeda shares down by around 26% over the last month. For comparison, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is up by around 2.6% over the same period.
Let's take a closer look at today's news from the mineral exploration company.
Halloysite-kaolin
Andromeda shares are in the green following news that the company's aircore drilling program has begun at its Great White deposit.
The drilling program will allow Andromeda to continue testing and defining the product of its ultra-bright halloysite-kaolin resource. It will also potentially help to extend the zone of mineralisation at the project.
The Great White Deposit is a high-quality, halloysite-kaolin resource located in South Australia. Andromeda has a 75% stake in the project, with its joint venture partner Minotaur Exploration Ltd (ASX: MEP) holding the other 25%.
Halloysite is a rare derivative of kaolin. According to Andromeda, the high purity of halloysite-kaolin from Great White makes it a premium feedstock for the production of high purity alumina (HPA). HPA is used to make electronics, watch faces, smartphone components, and it's a key ingredient for lithium batteries.
Andromeda has also advised the ultra-bright kaolinite at its Great White deposit works well to create coatings and polymers.
The company reported that testing of ultra-bright kaolinite from Great White found, after processing, its brightness was beyond the scale used to measure kaolinite's purity.
The aircore drilling program will be targeting areas to the north of the known deposit and to the south of a proposed mining pit.
Andromeda Metals share price snapshot
Today's news comes at a good time for the Andromeda share price, which has had a challenging year so far on the ASX.
Currently, the Andromeda share price is down 31% year to date. Though, it's still around 330% higher than it was this time last year.
The mineral explorer has a market capitalisation of around $453 million, with approximately 2 billion shares outstanding.
