Mining Lease Application QLD fully-funded Bauxite Project
Sydney, Nov 5, 2020 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Australian Bauxite Ltd (
ASX:ABX) (A7B:FRA) announces the Mining Lease Application for fully-funded Sunrise Bauxite Project, Binjour QLD.
-ABx's wholly-owned subsidiary ABx3 Pty Ltd has lodged a mining lease application (MLA) for the Sunrise Bauxite Project to develop the Binjour Bauxite discovery, located 25kms west of Gayndah and 115km southwest from the export port of Bundaberg, Queensland - see Fig 1*
- Development costs totalling $15 million are fully-funded by ABx's marketing partner Rawmin Mining of India, subject to final due diligence when travel restrictions are lifted
- The MLA number is ML 100272 and covers 299.1 hectares (739 acres)
- ABx has enjoyed strong support and friendship from landholders and once travel restrictions are relaxed, ABx will present plans individually to each landholder in private
- If and when approved, the Sunrise Bauxite operations will commence on the Binjour Plateau and, in time, bring smaller regional bauxite deposits into operation to develop a long-term supply chain for this gibbsite-rich type of bauxite which can be refined into alumina at lower temperature with significantly improved energy efficiency
- The Sunrise Bauxite Project is designed to sell 500,000 tonnes per year of gibbsite-rich trihydrate (THA) bauxite grading 44% to 45% Al2O3 and 5% SiO2 which is ideal for refining into alumina by the low-temperature Bayer-process alumina refineries
- Bauxite resources total 37 million tonnes at Binjour - see Resources Statement*. The first 10 to 15 years of operation will focus on high-grade zones that require little processing
- ABx has a Memorandum of Understanding with the Port of Bundaberg to investigate the opportunity to export bauxite in bulk tonnages through the Port of Bundaberg
- Research in 2020 studied extraction of very high grade bauxite from "detrital bauxite" rubble that has shed off the Binjour Plateau to create additional high-value products
- During this research, it was discovered that processing of the deposit can recover a potentially valuable by-product of a clean, low-clay concentrate of rutile, the main titanium ore mineral
- The deposit is also a potential source of halloysite clay which is used for nano-tubes
ABx considers Binjour Project to be the best source of gibbsite rich bauxite in Queensland (QLD).
Unlike other QLD bauxites, Binjour bauxite is ideal for low-temperature alumina refineries being gibbsite-rich, high grade, low silica & carbon-free.
In Planning for 10 years
Since discovery in 2010, ABx has worked with landholders, local & state government, port authorities, operator & logistics contractors, market specialists and customers to develop an optimum strategy for the Sunrise Bauxite Project at Binjour.
The plan is to produce high-quality metallurgical-grade bauxite exported in large bulk carrier ships from the Port of Bundaberg which would increase economic activity and export capabilities around Bundaberg which lies south and outside the Great Barrier Reef.
Support from landholders, local and state government
ABx is grateful for the long-term support from landholders, local communities, local government and state government departments and senior officers that ABx has met and briefed regularly. ABx respects the rights of landholders and has kept them advised of the progress and challenges of developing a project from discovery to export.
Local Employment
The project is located in a region where the population has all the skills needed for this project and the employees will be recruited locally. Total Full Time Equivalent jobs are estimated at 55 direct jobs with up to 150 indirect job in the Wide Bay Burnett district from pit to port.
ABx Rehabilitation Experience on Agricultural Land - a Corporate Strength
The Sunrise Bauxite Project will operate on freehold agricultural and tree plantation land that requires specialised rehabilitation which is one of ABx's corporate strengths, being the only current bauxite producer from high value agricultural land in Australia.
The plan is to return agriculture back to production rapidly in accordance with ABx's paramount company policy, namely:
ABx endorses best practices on agricultural land, strives to leave land and environment better than we find it. We only operate where welcomed.
ABx's rehabilitation record in Tasmania is demonstrated by the following Figures* from ABx's Bald Hill Bauxite Project in northern Tasmania:
Pre-mining, the rocky ridge was only for grazing but stone-removal and reseeding to landholder specifications has resulted in an improved outcome.
Rehabilitation at the Bald Hill Bauxite Project is going well and ahead of schedule, taking advantage of the better growing season this year. ABx believes that the final rehabilitation of all land mined to date will be returned to the Landowner in a more productive condition than when mining commenced in accordance with ABX's paramount corporate policy.
Project fully-funded by Rawmin Mining
ABx's marketing partner, Rawmin Mining of India has agreed to fund all pre-production and working capital costs for the Sunrise Bauxite Project estimated to total $15 million and will be entitled to a 50% joint venture interest in the project. ABx will be the project operator.
Port of Bundaberg
ABx has a Memorandum of Understanding agreement ("MoU") with the Port of Bundaberg to investigate a designated potential stockpile site and consider its potential for:
1. Stockpiling bauxite at the "MoU Block" - see location shown in Figure 6* below
2. Blending the bauxite to the contracted specification, and
3. To compensate for high road haulage costs, ABx seeks to load large Cape Size ships (150,000 tonnes cargo) at deep-water anchorage within Port Limits of Bundaberg Port.
ABx favours the use of Bundaberg Port because it lies well south of the Great Barrier Reef Park and is sand-bottomed from the point of loading through to international shipping lanes. ABx has worked collegiately with Bundaberg Port management and with all stakeholders in the Wide Bay-Burnett Region since 2010-11 when the discovery of the Binjour Bauxite deposit was made.
ABx favours the use of the MoU block at Bundaberg Port because trucks will not need to pass through the Port village community and keeps the bauxite well away from inhabited areas.
*To view tables and figures, please visit:
https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/Y18O08M8
About Australian Bauxite Ltd
Australian Bauxite Limited (ABx) (ASX:ABX) has its first bauxite mine in Tasmania & controls the Eastern Australian Bauxite Province. ABx's 11 bauxite tenements in Queensland, New South Wales & Tasmania totalling 662 km2 are all 100% owned, unencumbered & free of third-party royalties. ABx's bauxite is gibbsite trihydrate (THA) bauxite that can be processed into alumina at low temperature.
ABx has committed a large proportion of its expenditure into Research and Development to find ways to capitalise on the main strengths of its bauxite type which is very clean, free of all deleterious elements and partitioned into layers, nodules, particles and grains of different qualities that can be separated into different product streams using physical, chemical and geophysical methods.
ABx has declared large Mineral Resources in northern NSW, southern NSW, Binjour in central QLD & in northern Tasmania.
ABx's first mine commenced at Bald Hill near Campbell Town, Tasmania in December 2014 - the first new Australian bauxite mine for more than 35 years.
ABx aspires to identify large bauxite resources in the Eastern Australian Bauxite Province and has created significant bauxite development projects in 3 states, Queensland, New South Wales and Tasmania. Its bauxite deposits are favourably located for direct shipping of bauxite to both local and export customers.
ABx endorses best practices on agricultural land, strives to leave land and environment better than we find it. We only operate where welcomed.
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