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 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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