Homerun Resources Inc. has expanded its high-purity silica feedstock pathway for semiconductor and quantum networking applications, highlighting a collaborative technical development with the University of California, Davis.

The collaboration introduces a patent-pending, chemical-free laser processing method designed to purify silica sand to plus 4N purity exceeding 99.99%. This advances previous test work that relied on thermal pre-treatment and acid leaching. The methodology applies pulsed laser irradiation following pre-treatment to ensure particle uniformity without hazardous chemical inputs.

To transform the processed material into high-tech substrates, Homerun is incorporating advanced thermal consolidation techniques such as Flash Joule Heating, Spark Plasma Sintering, and Directed Energy Deposition. These methods aim to synthesize high-purity silicon carbide within milliseconds to minutes, bypassing energy-intensive legacy processes that require hours or days.

"Our vision since the first discovery of the SME Silica Sand District has been to take that material into its highest use in the Energy and Technology Value Chains. We are on path in Solar Glass, Energy Storage, Silicon, Silicon Carbide and Photonics working with Professor Risbud and his incredible team at UC Davis. High purity feedstock and technical disruption are the key to the Critical Materials Value Chain Transition and that is the path we have followed and will continue. Our efforts are now attracting strategic global attention as are the key materials sectors within which we are focused."

— Brian Leeners, CEO

The initiatives form part of the company's wider development at the Santa Maria Eterna silica district in Belmonte, Bahia, Brazil. Homerun holds mining rights and a definitive lease agreement with Companhia Bahiana de Produção Mineral for the district, which covers a mineral resource estimate of 25.56 million tonnes Measured and 38.35 million tonnes Inferred of high-purity silica sand.

The company is advancing a Three-Phase Integrated Purification Platform at Santa Maria Eterna, including a planned 350,000 tonnes per year 3N primary processing plant and subsequent +4N purification facilities. Additionally, Homerun is progressing the development of a 1,000 tonne per day solar glass plant at the Belmonte site.

Read the full announcement: Homerun Resources Inc. Expands Pathway to High-Purity Feedstocks for Next-Generation Silicon and Silicon Carbide Integrated Photonic and Quantum Networks