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 ABx Group Limited
ABx Group Limited (ABx) (ASX:ABX) is a uniquely positioned Australian company delivering materials for a cleaner future.
The three priority projects are:
- Heavy rare earths: Supplying light and heavy rare earths from Tasmania into Western supply chains
o Processing Options Analysis conducted in partnership with external experts
- Clean fluorine chemical production: Producing industrial chemicals from aluminium smelter by-product (ALCORE)
o Continuous pilot plant under construction in Bell Bay, Tasmania
- Near-term bauxite production: Mining bauxite resources for the aluminium, cement and fertiliser industries
o Agreements executed with Good Importing International for bauxite projects in Queensland and New South Wales, and $2.7 million initial payment has been received
o Approvals well advanced for DL130 bauxite project in northern Tasmania
ABx endorses best practices on agricultural land and strives to leave land and environment better than we find it. We only operate where welcomed.
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