While battery metals took centre stage at this year’s RIU Sydney Resources Round-up, Zeotech quietly dropped what might be one of the most technically disruptive materials plays in the room.
Presenting to a packed room of mining and materials professionals, Zeotech CEO James Marsh introduced AusPozz™—a high-reactivity metakaolin (HRM) engineered to replace traditional cement binders in concrete. But this isn’t your average SCM (supplementary cementitious material). This is kaolin-based, carbon-slaying, strength-boosting tech backed by serious validation and near-term production plans.
“We’re achieving strength that shouldn’t be possible,” said Marsh. “Concrete engineers are saying, by using that much binder in that much concrete, you shouldn’t be able to get that much strength”.
James Marsh
From pit to port: simplicity by design
What gives AusPozz its edge is simplicity—geologically, metallurgically and logistically. The material is derived from Zeotech’s Toondoon Kaolin Project in central Queensland, where a mining lease is already approved and a test pit has been constructed. The host material is ultra-high purity kaolin—up to 99 percent conversion to metakaolin—with minimal overburden and open-cut mining conditions.
The orebody lies just 2 metres below surface and sits adjacent to a heavy vehicle route connected directly to Bundaberg’s deepwater port, where Zeotech has secured a 7.88-hectare development site via a Gladstone Ports Corporation LOI.
“It’s rare to find a deposit like this, with this level of purity, logistics already in place, and no metallurgical complexity,” Marsh noted. “You mill it, heat it to 750°C, and you’ve got product”.
The cement killer? Technically, it stacks up
Independent testing shows AusPozz slashes embodied carbon by 79 percent compared to ordinary Portland cement (OPC), delivering just 204 kg CO₂-e per tonne. Importantly, it doesn’t just match conventional binder performance—it outpaces it.
In 40 MPa mix trials, replacing 20 percent of cement with AusPozz delivered a 50 percent increase in compressive strength at 56 days. Shrinkage was halved in the same test series. Testing across nearly 50 mix designs has shown consistent performance—something that’s been lacking in many competing SCMs.
Additional performance benefits:
Mitigates alkali-silica reaction (ASR or “concrete cancer”)
Enhances flexural strength and abrasion resistance
Reduces efflorescence
Controls heat differentials in large pours
Market pull, not push
Backed by a Memorandum of Understanding with Holcim Australia—the global heavyweight in cement and aggregates—Zeotech has already supplied over two tonnes for lab trials. A live field trial involving 80 tonnes of AusPozz is now in the pipeline. Domestic partners currently testing the product include AdBri, Heidelberg, Nucon, Hallet Group and Greentech Cement. Overseas, Riyadh Cement in Saudi Arabia is also trialling the material.
Zeotech’s play is as much about supply chain integration as it is about material science. Bundaberg’s deepwater port provides coastal access to east coast construction hubs and export lanes into Asia. And the addressable market is enormous: over 10 Mtpa of cement consumption in Australia alone—where a 10 percent replacement could equate to 1 Mtpa of demand just onshore.
Early cash flow via DSO
While AusPozz production is the primary target, Zeotech is not waiting on the kiln to start generating revenue. A recently signed MOU with Jiangsu Mineral Sources International (MSI) will allow for the sale of raw kaolin and bauxite as DSO into China. That first step provides early cash flow while the company scales production capacity for processed metakaolin.
Next steps
A pre-feasibility study (PFS) is nearing release. A 200-tonne batch of AusPozz is currently being processed in Melbourne for broader market trials. Zeotech is also finalising offtake agreements and planning a significant drilling campaign to expand its current 14 Mt JORC resource—which represents just 5 percent of the broader tenement package.
“There’s nothing complicated about this, but it’s a massive opportunity,” said Marsh in closing. “We’re decarbonising concrete while making it stronger, and the resource gives us a 20-year head start”.
