3.5 Million Tonnes Maiden Resource - Granted QLD Mining Leas
Sydney, Dec 3, 2012 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Bauxite development company, Australian Bauxite Limited (
ASX:ABZ) has completed investigative drilling as part of its due diligence with respect to Mining Lease ML80126, located 25 km south of Mundubbera and 155 km southwest of Bundaberg Port in central Queensland (see Figure 1). ABx confirms that the Inferred Resource of bauxite identified is 3.5 Million tonnes.
Establishing the resource size provides the resource size consideration for concluding final agreements to purchase the mining lease and commence early mine production to supply the buoyant bauxite market, which is currently seriously short of this type of gibbsite bauxite.
This granted, long-term mining lease ML80126 may be a fast-track route to the commencement of ABx's large Binjour Bauxite Project located 115 km southwest of Bundaberg Export Port, Queensland - see Figure 1.
Strategically significant
ABx CEO, Ian Levy said; "The discovery of a good bauxite deposit on this granted long-term Mining Lease is one of the final jigsaw pieces in establishing the first modern bauxite business in Australia since the 1960s. Production from this mining lease may commence early and kick-start the large Binjour Project several years earlier than we previously thought."
Summary of Resource
A gibbsite-rich bauxite layer, 1 to 7 metres thick, totalling 5 million tonnes has been discovered beneath a shallow layer of soil and overburden red clay at the Toondoon Mining Lease ML80126. A total of 14 drillholes totalling 186 metres were drilled and revealed a consistent, continuous deposit (see Figure 2) and enabled the estimation of an Inferred Resource.
Two estimates based on two cut-off grades were competed and are reported in Table 1 (refer to link below).
Raw In-Situ DSO Bauxite
It is common to commence operations based on those bauxite zones that contain bauxite in the ground ("in-situ") that is "DSO Bauxite" which can be exported directly (see definitions) and to stockpile the bauxite that requires screening for processing in later years. Approximately 50% of the bauxite meets DSO grades and requires no upgrade.
The estimate of DSO Bauxite is approximately 50% of the bauxite deposit as reported in Table 2 (refer to link below).
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Location and Infrastructure
The North Burnett region of Central Queensland has rural infrastructure, with regional highways passing through the bauxite areas, connecting to an export port at Bundaberg, which has ample spare port capacity (Figure 3). Shipping into and out of Bundaberg Port is via deep, sandbottomed shipping channels connected to the eastern Australian deepwater shipping lanes and does not pass over any part of the Great Barrier Reef or ecologically sensitive seafloors.
There is a well-developed state electric power grid and ample water supplies.
Natural gas pipelines connect from the Surat Basin to Gladstone through this district.
Coal mining occurs to the north and south of this region and there are several mineral deposits being assessed in the region.
There are well-established regional population centres at Mundubbera and Gayndah and ABx's large Binjour bauxite project is located between these two regional centres (see locations in Figure 1).
Gladstone (see Figure 4 below) is a major bauxite processing centre with two alumina refineries and an aluminium smelter. Gladstone is a major mineral port (coal, bauxite, coal seam gas, chemicals) that services the Queensland Alumina Limited (QAL) and Yarwun alumina refineries and Australia's largest aluminium smelter at Boyne Island. Both alumina refineries and the Boyne Island aluminium smelter at Gladstone are operated by Rio Tinto Alcan.
This part of Queensland has major steel fabrication and heavy machinery workshops as well as highly experienced contractors in earth moving, mining, transport and construction.
In summary, the ABx bauxite project areas in central Queensland are supplied with power, water, communications and transport infrastructure, near well-serviced industrial centres and near to two efficient export ports that operate all year round without seasonal interruptions.
Environmental Setting
ML80126 is a fully-granted, long-term Mining Lease located in an area that is unaffected by Queensland's strategic cropping land maps.
The Mining Lease is unlikely to be affected by socio-environmental impediments.
View the full Australian Bauxite announcement including Tables and Figures at the link below:
http://media.abnnewswire.net/media/en/docs/ASX-ABZ-710089.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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