Australian Bauxite Limited (ASX:ABZ) Drilling Confirms 30 Metres True Thickness of Bauxite at Taralga, NSW
Sydney, Feb 9, 2012 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Emerging bauxite exploration and development company, Australian Bauxite Limited (
ASX:ABZ) has drilled 4 new vertical holes TG677 to TG680 around hole TG626 at Mt Rae which, in December 2011, discovered the company's then record thickest high-grade bauxite intersection - possibly one of the thickest bauxite intersections in Australia. Thicker bauxite was found.
New hole TG680 intersected a new record 33 metres true thickness of bauxite from surface to 33m depth whilst hole TG677 intersected 24 metres and holes TG678 & TG679 intersected 32 true thickness of bauxite. Holes and bauxite thicknesses are shown in Figure 4 (see link at the bottom of the release) with results to hand summarised in Table 1 (see link at the bottom of the release).
Most Australian bauxite deposits are less than 4 metres thick and some are less than 2 metres thick whereas holes TG626, TG677 to TG680 average 30 metres true thickness.
ABx and Marubeni Corporation are conducting a $1.5 million pre feasibility study of the Goulburn Bauxite Project. This zone of thick bauxite increases the resource potential of the Taralga bauxite areas, near Goulburn NSW.
The district's deposits contain thick zones of premium grade bauxite, with good potential for more discoveries. All deposits are gibbsite-rich (trihydrate) bauxite and free of clays and boehmite (monohydrate-free). All horizons produce Direct Shipping or "DSO" bauxite.
Resource Estimation Update
Areas of thick, good quality bauxite continue to be discovered across the Taralga - Mt Rae Areas. It is intended to upgrade the resource estimate for Taralga before the end of the current Pre Feasibility Study ("PFS"), which is scheduled to conclude at the end of March. Como Engineers of Perth have been appointed to coordinate cost estimations and prepare the PFS report.
Current bauxite resources at Taralga total 25 million tonnes (see Resource Statement page 4 from the link at the bottom of the release).
Metallurgical Results Encouraging: Main Production is DSO Bauxite Metallurgical tests on large samples have been done as part of the Pre Feasibility Study, with METS Engineers of Perth coordinating and summarising the testwork (report in progress).
The Goulburn district bauxite deposits typically have an upper half that contains nodules or "pisoliths" of a black, glassy material which is an emery, comprising mainly fused alumina and trace iron oxides. Well-known bauxite mineralogist, Professor Eggleton of the Australian National University coined the term "PDM" for these black pisoliths which he found in bauxites from Weipa, Northern QLD. PDM stands for "poorly diffracting material" when subjected to X-ray diffraction.
Metallurgical tests on the PDM-bearing bauxite ("PDM-DSO Bx") from the Taralga area have been able to recover the PDM by gravity methods and the remaining bauxite is good-quality DSO bauxite, similar to the DSO bauxite that typically occurs in the lower half of the deposits. This means that overall, DSO will represent approximately 75% to 85% of total tonnes produced from the Goulburn Bauxite Project. The recovered PDM emery material can be sold at good prices for industrial uses.
Because this PDM-bauxite layer typically has less than 15% Loss on Ignition "LOI" (see Appendix details), it was previously referred to as "Dehydrated" bauxite. It is now called PDM-DSO Bx bauxite.
For the complete announcement including tables and Resource Statement, please view:
http://media.abnnewswire.net/media/en/docs/ASX-ABZ-666263.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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