Australian Bauxite Limited (ASX:ABZ) Bauxite Drilling Progress and Strategy
Sydney, Aug 13, 2010 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Emerging bauxite exploration and development company, Australian Bauxite Limited (
ASX:ABZ) has successfully completed its first-pass drilling campaigns on all of its QLD projects and its second-pass drilling campaign at Inverell in northern NSW along with a first-pass exploratory drilling of Pindaroi near Inverell. Early laboratory results from orientation samples are reported here for Binjour, Inverell, Pindaroi and Hampton tenements. Results are considered satisfactory, and, in some places, better than expected. Drilling is continuing ahead of schedule in southern NSW near Goulburn with a high success rate.
At ABx's northernmost bauxite deposit at Binjour in central QLD, encouraging thicknesses of a concealed bauxite layer up to 15 metres thick were encountered and two-stages of drilling were completed in July. A thick bauxite layer has been discovered at Binjour with early assays indicating high qualities.
A new deposit averaging 3 to 5 metres thick has been discovered near Haden, 40km north of Toowoomba, south-eastern QLD but laboratory results are still awaited.
The drilling rig and crews have moved to the Goulburn area, southern NSW where application of improved geological understanding of these bauxite occurrences has led to a significant increase in the frequency of bauxite intercepts. Good thicknesses of bauxite up to 7 metres thick are being intersected in most drillholes. The consistency of the bauxite is impressive.
Resource estimations on the Inverell deposit have commenced in late July as scheduled and will be completed during August. The Department of Industry and Investment has approved a 780 hole drilling program at Inverell, following submission of a Review of Environmental Factors. The approval is for 3 years.
The drilling program is 4 months ahead of the original IPO schedule and may end the calendar year 6 months ahead of the original 2009 IPO schedule.
ABx CEO, Ian Levy said; "This is the most aggressive and successful exploratory drill program I've seen. The ABx exploration team is achieving rapid discovery rates and a massive increase in geological knowledge about this large, new bauxite province that ABx has discovered over 1,400 kms from central Queensland to Tasmania.
"In March 2010, we told shareholders we wanted to accelerate exploration and our team has already delivered on that promise. We could be drilling our exciting Tasmanian deposits before year-end, thus completing a first-pass evaluation of all our projects 6 months ahead of schedule."
INITIAL COMMERCIAL PRESENTATIONS
ABx plans to present initial results from several bauxite projects to potential customers and/or partners, commencing in September. Opportunities for project advancements may arise from these initial presentations but the detailed review of several projects will also help ABx to identify its projects with the highest potential for early development and production.
BINJOUR EPM 18014
170km SW of Bundaberg QLD
Holes drilled: 115
Holes with bauxite: 90 (78% hit rate)
Average bauxite thickness: 6.3 metres (up to 15 metres)
During exploration, an area of several square kilometres was discovered on the Binjour plateau that has a good quality bauxite layer concealed beneath a soft, free-digging overburden layer. Holes BJ 033, 006 and 057 are from that area which will be investigated in subsequent drilling. Several hundred laboratory results are pending from other holes.
Bauxite at Binjour is unexpectedly extensive over a wide and diverse area, thus justifying the expansion in drilling strategy to begin mapping out the thicker zones and zones of better grades. Several new targets are now being investigated so as to better define drilling targets for 2011.
HAMPTON EPM 17790
20km N of Toowoomba QLD
Holes drilled: 136
Holes with bauxite: 56 (41% hit rate)
Average bauxite thickness: 5.9 metres (up to 13 metres)
These early results come from the Pechey deposit only. The Geham deposit, located south of Pechey is a relatively consistent bauxite layer whilst Pechey deposit has two layers of bauxite. Laboratory results are awaited from this program and assessments of results will commence later in August.
HADEN EPM 17830
40km N of Toowoomba QLD
A new deposit colloquially called "Steam Engine" has recently been discovered near Haden, 15kms to the northwest of the Pechey-Geham deposits at Hampton. The new deposit averages 3 to 5 metres thick and appears a consistent style of bauxite, more akin to Inverell bauxite than to Hampton styled bauxite.
Holes drilled: 39
Holes with bauxite: 23 (59% hit rate)
Average bauxite thickness: 4.4 metres (up to 9 metres)
Bauxite Grades from initial holes sent for early analysis are still awaited. The deposit extends over a wide area and will be explored by surface mapping prior to its next phase of drilling.
HILLGROVE EPM 17831, RED HILL EPM 17800, RED HILL SOUTH EPM 17801
North and South of Toowoomba QLD
A combined 20 holes were drilled on these 3 tenement, of which, 13 holes intersected bauxite. Average thickness is between 2.75 and 4 metres with a maximum of 4 metres. Laboratory results are pending.
INVERELL EL 6997
10km N of Inverell, northern NSW
Holes drilled: 162
Holes with bauxite: 115 (71% hit rate)
Average bauxite thickness: 4.8 metres (up to 9.4 metres)
These results come mainly from a portion of the central part of the main Inverell deposit and are consistent with the results used for estimation of the 22 million tonne Maiden Resource that was announced in February 2010, which was based on 118 drillholes drilled in 2009 in a portion of the southern part of that main Inverell deposit. The combined areas drilled to date represent less than 15% of known bauxite deposits in the Inverell tenement.
The Inverell deposit is extensive and remarkably consistent. Resource estimation upgrade work commenced in late July for the newly drilled parts of the deposit.
PINDAROI EL 7268
15km NE of Inverell, northern NSW
Holes drilled: 18
Holes with bauxite: 12 (67% hit rate)
Average bauxite thickness: 5.9 metres (up to 12 metres)
Pindaroi was drilled to confirm the observation that extensive surface areas of bauxite extended to depth. The results from this preliminary first-pass drilling has confirmed that.
Follow-up, second-pass drilling will be carried out during 2011.
WINDELLAMA EL 7269
25km S of Goulburn, southern NSW
Holes drilled: 58
Holes with bauxite: 47 (81% hit rate)
Average bauxite thickness: 3.3 metres (up to 7 metres)
Bauxite Grades from these holes are still awaited.
This drilling was done quite recently during late July, early August. The improved hit rates reflect the improved geological knowledge and resulting confidence in being able to identify these types of bauxite deposits.
Sampling of the Windellama bauxite deposits during 2009 returned encouraging grades. These deposits are adjacent to an operating rail line that carried mineral products for several decades to Port Kembla for export.
TARALGA EL 7269
30km N of Goulburn, southern NSW
Holes drilled: 36
Holes with bauxite: 32 (89% hit rate)
Average bauxite thickness: 4.0 metres (up to 6 metres)
Bauxite Grades from these holes are still awaited.
This drilling is still in progress during early August. The improved hit rates reflect the improved geological knowledge and resulting confidence in being able to identify these types of bauxite deposits.
COMMENT ON LAND ACCESS
This major bauxite drilling program is proceeding without interruption and with a 100% approval by landholders of the post-drilling site rectification work done by the ABx field crew. Landholder support has been positive in all areas, which has been gratefully acknowledged by ABx in local media, including the statement that; "We pride ourselves in our dealings with landowners and we will become good corporate citizens in any region we work in."
Because ABx is not limited to one or two project areas it is able to avoid land access risks such as native title, local landholder resistance or environmental legislation.
COMMENT ON DRILLING PROGRESS
The drilling program is proceeding well ahead of schedule and results are generally in line with expectations and in some places, better than expected. If progress continues at the current pace, ABx could complete its first-pass evaluation of all project areas by year-end which is 6 months ahead of the original schedule as at the time of the Initial Public Offering (IPO) for ABx in December 2009.
Drill spacing's remain variable - typically spaced up to 300 metres apart across continuous bauxite zones and closer spaced where better material was located in the initial drilling. In places, holes have been approximately 100 metres apart to assess the continuity of the bauxite thickness and grades.
For the complete Australian Bauxite announcement including Bauxite Grade tables and the planned drilling schedule, pleaser refer to the following link below:
http://www.abnnewswire.net/media/en/docs/63513-ASX-ABZ-601693.pdf
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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