Tasmanian Bauxite Project Update
Sydney, July 24, 2012 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Emerging bauxite exploration and development company, Australian Bauxite Limited (
ASX:ABZ) has received laboratory and exploration results from drilling and surface exploration at its newly consolidated 11 Tasmanian exploration tenements totalling 1,897 square kilometres in central Northern Tasmania (Figure 1, see link below).
334 drill holes and 1,521 surface samples (some of substantial size) have been completed in Tasmania over the past 18 months and all results have been carefully assessed so as to define areas that may be suitable for a bauxite extraction and export project on the basis of:
1. Sufficient tonnages of thick, good quality low-silica, gibbsite-rich bauxite
2. Nearness to high-capacity transport routes linked to nearby mineral export ports
3. Most importantly, as free as possible of socio-environmental constraints that might prevent investment in a new business in central Northern Tasmania
As a result of this assessment, 2 outlying tenements are to be relinquished and 2 new tenements secured in areas of quarrying and cleared lands that contain bauxite. 1 new tenement has been offered for grant and 2 applications are pending. Community consultation and expert advice has led to a greater level of confidence that bauxite extraction could be viable in several of these areas once sufficient resources are identified and required approvals obtained.
Australian Bauxite CEO Ian Levy said; "Investing in Tasmania is only done after careful consideration of the risk-rewards situation based on expert advice. It requires an understanding of Tasmania's special circumstances.
"We believe that with goodwill and common sense, ABx can develop a viable project in Tasmania."
Logistical Setting
Central Northern Tasmania has good infrastructure, with an operating rail line passing through the bauxite areas as well as heavy haulage highways. Both rail and road link directly to efficient operating mineral export ports at Burnie and Bell Bay that have spare port capacity (see Figure 2).
Tasmania has a well-developed electric power grid based mainly on hydroelectric power and has ample water supplies in most areas. Natural gas from the Bass Strait field is distributed throughout Tasmania and there are many well-established population centres throughout the region.
Coal mining occurs in the Fingal Valley area east of the main bauxite areas and large cement works are operating in the area south of Devonport to the west of the bauxite areas.
Central Northern Tasmania has some of Australia's best steel fabrication and heavy machinery workshops as well as highly experienced earth moving and construction contractors.
In summary, the Tasmanian bauxite project areas in central Northern Tasmania are near regional cities, power, water and a pro-development workforce.
Bauxite Quality
To date, 11 target areas have been identified, numbered 1 to 11 in Figure 3.
Table 1 shows the typical surface sample results from the DSO Bauxite (see definitions in link below) discovered in these locations. Table 2 shows some of the drillhole results from the bauxite zones targeted for follow-up drilling in the near future. These initial drillhole results confirm that potentially economic thicknesses and grades of bauxite occur within the bauxite discovery areas in Tasmania.
These holes demonstrate that there are high grade bauxite zones within the Tasmanian bauxite target areas. Not all of the areas have been drilled.
To view the complete Australian Bauxite announcement including Tables and Figures, pleae click the link below:
http://media.abnnewswire.net/media/en/docs/ASX-ABZ-687051.pdf
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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