December 2016 Quarterly Activities Report
Sydney, Jan 27, 2017 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Australian Bauxite Ltd (
ASX:ABX) is pleased to provide the Company's Quarterly Activities Report for three months ended 31 December, 2016.
PRINCIPAL POINTS
Corporate
The available cash for the current group is $1.75 million. ABx has lines of credit for working capital as and when required. No capital raisings are planned in the foreseeable future. ABx has 122,500 tonnes of stocks ready for sale (see page 3 in the link below).
Operations
Sales continuing - more sales being pursued
Physical dispatches of sales in the December quarter were delayed by the two current customers until Summer. Modest tonnage, profitable sales of fertiliser-grade bauxite are happening at the time of writing and will continue throughout 2017.
The planned cement-grade sale is delayed by mechanical modifications needed at the customer's plant. ABx will seek to sell the current blended product stockpile to another customer and assemble a new product stockpile to the customer's specification again when a delivery date is set. ABx already has sufficient processed bauxite to supply a further 2 large shipments.
Thus far, ABx has dispatched 5 sales to 2 repeat customers and is in negotiation with more than 6 possible customers for long-term contracts to underpin development of a 2nd mine.
Emerging cement and fertiliser market opportunities
Until global economic growth and demand for metallurgical bauxite picks up, ABx will mainly sell its bauxite into cement and fertiliser markets at prices higher than could be achieved in the oversupplied metallurgical bauxite market (see market summary in the link below).
The clean chemistry of ABx's bauxite has allowed ABx to sell cement-grade bauxite which:
1. Consistently increases the late strength of concrete;
2. Is quartz & salt-free for exceptional corrosion-resistance; and
3. Eliminates stoppages & pressure problems in kilns, lowers kiln temperatures & reduces emissions.
As cement makers convert from coal to gas-fired production, demand increases for cement-grade bauxite to add aluminium oxide and lesser iron oxide that would have been provided by the coal.
USA infrastructure construction is increasing cement demand. ABx's US cement-maker customers need to maximise cement production by eliminating stoppages & increasing late strength of the cement. ABx's cement-grade bauxite does both. US meetings are planned in March.
Cement-Grade Resource Tonnages Expanded Significantly
ABx's recent 5-fold increase in the resource tonnages at its Fingal Rail Project1 shows that ABx can enter into long-term contracts with major cement-grade customers, subject to satisfactory contract terms which are currently being negotiated specifically to suit the Fingal Rail suite of bauxite products.
TasTech Technology Is Yielding Results
During the quarter, ABx expanded the scope of TasTech technology that separates ABx's bauxite into metallurgical, cement and fertiliser-grade bauxite products at low cost. This research discovered two technologies that can produce pure bauxite and other very high-value products. Testwork is continuing with the objective to commence TasTech production in the 2017/18 Summer period and to prove-up the recently discovered value-adding steps.
To view the full report, please visit:
http://abnnewswire.net/lnk/R1E6K0T0
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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