Update on Binjour Project Queensland
Sydney, June 26, 2017 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Australian Bauxite Limited (
ASX:ABX) (ABx) and its marketing partner, Rawmin Mining and Industries Pvt. Ltd (Rawmin) commenced a review in late May of ABx's bauxite resources around Binjour totalling 28 million tonnes (see resources details in Appendix in the link below). Binjour is located 115kms from the export port of Bundaberg which is similar scale to the port used by Rawmin in India to export its bauxite to long-term customers. ABx and Rawmin both produce metallurgically similar, compatible bauxite.
Rawmin has advised that it wishes to take the review to the next stage of assessment, including:
1. Progressing further discussions with local councils and government business development officers, building on the initial meetings in Bundaberg and Gayndah on 30th and 31st May which were encouraging and welcoming;
2. Determining the simplest logistics solutions for an early start-up of shipments;
3. Assessing the most suitable product specifications for the deposits and customers;
4. Providing marketing samples to pre-qualified customers;
5. Commencement of economic assessments; and
6. Discussions with its banks concerning project finance.
Granted Mining Lease Included
These assessments will include long-term Mining Lease ML80126 at Toondoon, 25km south of Mundubbera and 155 km from Bundaberg Port in central Queensland (see Figure 1 in the link below) which has an Inferred Resource of 3.5 Million tonnes of bauxite 1, with potential for extensions into the surrounding ground. Production from this mining lease may commence as a precursor for the larger Binjour Project during its approval processes.
Prospective Ground Secured
Since December 2012, ABx has obtained an Exploration Permit EPM 25146 which has secured the mineral rights on the ground surrounding the Toondoon Mining Lease.
Bauxite Discovery at Brovinia Included
The large extent of this bauxite province was demonstrated by ABx's discovery of very high grade outcrops of bauxite at Brovinia further south of Toondoon as announced on 7th September 2015 - see Figure 1 (see the link below) for locations.
Local Support
Rawmin's visit was greatly assisted by productive meetings with local and state government authorities in Bundaberg, Bundaberg Port and North Burnett Regional Council in Gayndah.
ABx Chief Operating Officer, Leon Hawker said; "The greater Binjour project has potential to produce metallurgical grade bauxite during the dry season which is the same time of year that monsoons close the ports in western India that Rawmin uses to export its bauxite. Coordination between Rawmin and ABx could supply good quality trihydrate gibbsite bauxite to an alumina refinery all year round."
"Rawmin will lead this project assessment for the rest of 2017 whilst ABx staff focus on making shipments of cement-grade bauxite from its Tasmanian operations."
To view tables and figures, please visit:
http://abnnewswire.net/lnk/0P8829B6
About ABx Group Limited
ABx Group Limited (ABx) (ASX:ABX) started as a bauxite miner in Tasmania in 2014 & controls the Eastern Australian Bauxite Province. In 2020 to 2023, ABx also discovered Australia’s only true ionic adsorption clay Rare Earth Elements resource at Deep Leads in pine plantations 40km west of Launceston with a JORC-compliant resource of 89 million tonnes from only 29% of the mineralised outline, averaging 844 ppm total rare earth oxides that is the most enriched in the critically important rare earths, Dy and Tb, of any Australian REE deposit.
ABx has also developed a proprietary technology to produce fluorine chemicals from an aluminium smelter waste product and return the fluorine back into the smelters, thus reducing reliance on imported aluminium fluoride.
ABx has committed a large proportion of its expenditure into Research and Development and has found ways to capitalise on the main strengths of its bauxite type which is very clean, free of all deleterious elements and can be separated into different product streams using physical, chemical and geophysical methods. It has produced and marketed specialist bauxite products for the manufacturers of fertiliser, cement with high late strength for major infrastructure such as bridges and is in the advanced stages of approvals for production of metallurgical bauxite from its Binjour Bauxite deposit with JORC-compliant resources of 37 million tonnes of bauxite, in a joint development with a Chinese-focussed Australian trading company Good Importing International.
ABx is also preparing to produce fertiliser grade and cement grade bauxite from its DL130 bauxite quarry in northern Tasmania, 40km west of Launceston. This quarry is sited in the middle of the large Deep Leads REE deposit and may one day be a site for heap leaching of the REE using a low-cost, benign leachate with the same acidity as apple juice or tea.
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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