Ian Levy

ASX-listed Australian Bauxite has taken a significant step towards the eventual shipping of “metallurgical-grade” bauxite having lodged a mining lease application for its Sunrise bauxite project 115km south-west of the Port of Bundaberg in Queensland. The application covers the proposed $15 million development of Sunrise that incorporates the high-quality gibbsite-rich trihydrate Binjour bauxite deposit.

ASX-listed Australian Bauxite’s 89 per cent-owned chemical refining subsidiary, Alcore, is gearing up to become the first domestic producer of aluminium fluoride. The company is looking to ramp up from a laboratory-scale to a commercial-scale production outfit and in the process diversify and increase the security of supply for Australasian smelters.

Australian Bauxite’s 89 per cent-owned chemical refining subsidiary, Alcore has clinched the services of Dr Mark Cooksey as its Chief Executive Officer after he filled the position on a leave arrangement with national science agency, the CSIRO. Australian Bauxite says Dr Cooksey’s appointment is a shot in the arm for Alcore’s efforts to commercialise a new process for aluminium fluoride production.

Australian Bauxite is hoping for a clear run this year after its development activities were curtailed at its advancing Sunrise “metallurgical-grade” bauxite project in Queensland due to pandemic-related travel restrictions in the December quarter. The company did manage to notch up a major milestone late last year having lodged a mining lease application for the proposed development of a bauxite mining and beneficiation operation.

Australian Bauxite appears to have added a second string to its bow with the company encountering intriguing levels of rare earth elements at its Tasmanian and Queensland bauxite projects that it describes as “potentially game changing”. Initial results from exploration undertaken over the past 15 months returned encouraging hits of rare earth elements at the Binjour bauxite deposit within its Sunrise project 115km south-west of the Bundaberg port and at the DL130 prospect in north-east Tasmania.

ASX-listed Australian Bauxite’s 87 per cent-owned chemical refining subsidiary, Alcore may be on the cusp of turning aluminium smelter waste into treasure after producing aluminium fluoride samples from waste known as “dross” in recent test work. The Sydney-based company says the ability to recycle the waste by-product has the potential to significantly improve the base-line economics of producing aluminium fluoride in Australia.

Australian Bauxite has just uncovered the highest level of rare earth elements to date from its DL130 bauxite project in north-east Tasmania. The company says near-surface results returned from its ongoing drilling campaign at DL130 reveal strong enrichment of the super-magnet rare earth element, neodymium. Assays from the stand-out drill hole include 1m grading 145.8ppm neodymium, 34.55ppm dysprosium, 34.52ppm praseodymium and 5.55ppm terbium.

Against a backdrop of increasing prices and market appetite for rare earth elements, Australian Bauxite is looking to build on a recent discovery of rare earth elements accumulations within its DL130 bauxite project in Tasmania. The company says the discovery appears to increase in grade in an arc from west to north-east with the latest hole drilled in the arc yielding an eye-catching grade of 301ppm neodymium oxide.

ABx Group has secured $4 million from existing shareholders through a share purchase plan to advance its Deep Leads rare earth element project in Tasmania. The money was raised off the back of a bonanza rare earth drill hit going at 3,306 parts per million total rare earth oxides.

Alumina technologist and rare earths explorer ABx Group has chosen the CEO of its subsidiary, Alcore, to run the ASX-listed parent. The move comes after long time ABx leader Ian Levy said he was stepping down from the 1st of February. Dr Mark Cooksey previously held the position of CEO of Alcore, an ABx company that has been developing an aluminium fluoride refinery in NSW.

ABx Group has signed a joint venture agreement with Alumin to develop its Sunrise bauxite mine and port project. The mine is expected to have a 20-year life and provide 50 direct local jobs. Situated 115km from Bundaberg Port in Queensland it is anticipated the mine will initially export 500,000 tonnes per year of metallurgical grade bauxite, scaling up to 2 million tonnes per year.