Australian Bauxite (ASX:ABZ) is an exploration company that holds the core of the Eastern Australian Bauxite Province with 29 tenements in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania covering over 7,000 km2.
Australian Bauxite boosts bauxite Resource by 64% to 36Mt at Inverell
Sydney-based exploration company Australian Bauxite (ASX: ABZ) has increased the Inferred and Indicated Resources of its bauxite deposit A-B by 64% to 36 million tonnes of gibbsite-rich bauxite in tenement EL 6997 at Inverell in northern New South Wales.
This resource update is based on 78 new holes drilled into A-B deposit in May-June 2010 and the 118 holes drilled in 2009 - a total of 196 holes with 2,748 metres drilled and sampled.
Deposit A-B is only one of 4 major bauxite areas identified to date on EL 6997 and the area drilled for resources to date represents less than 15% of the bauxite areas identified. At least 50% of the large EL 6997 tenement is yet to be explored for bauxite.
The gibbsitic bauxite resource upgrades to premium grades at high yields with simple screening and large parts of the resource are Direct-Shipping Grade (DSO) requiring no processing.
Parts of the deposit have been confirmed as high grade, Direct Shipping Grade (DSO bauxite) up to 9.4 metresthick and averaging 6 metres thick. The A-B deposit is a relatively consistent, thick, high quality bauxite deposit averaging 5.6 metres in bauxite thickness and approximately 1 metre of overburden.
Ian Levy, CEO, said “the Inverell deposit is proving to be the predictable, thick, high quality bauxite that we hoped it would be. In mid 2010, we drilled 78 additional holes into the first resource area that had been drilled by 118 holes in 2009."
"This 66% increase in the number of resource drillholes has expanded resources by 64% whilst also increasing the proportion of Indicated Resources 67% of the deposit – a simultaneous increase in both tonnage and confidence in the deposit.”
“Drilling in 2011 will continue expanding the drill tested area of deposit A-B and we will commence resource drilling of the other 3 major deposits that are known on EL 6997."
"There were also some new discoveries of bauxite encountered in the additional 84 exploratory holes drilled in mid 2010 that warrant follow-up drilling. We also hope to commence resource estimation drilling in the nearby Pindaroi bauxite deposits discovered in the 18 firstpass exploratory drillholes completed in mid 2010.”
ABx has 29 bauxite exploration tenements in eastern Australia covering 7,000 sq kms and drilled a further 84 holes in May-June 2010 as first pass testing of the 3 other known bauxite deposits on EL 6997 which now warrant resource drilling.
ABx also drilled 18 holes in its nearby Pindaroi tenement, encountering thick bauxite in places that also warrant future resource drilling.
First-pass testing of several additional deposits has identified new areas warranting resource infill drilling anf the company has a Resource target between 200 and 300 million tonnes of bauxite.
Drilling is continuing in southern NSW near Goulburn with a high success rate. At ABx’s northernmost bauxite deposit at Binjour in central QLD, encouraging thicknesses of a concealed bauxite layer up to 15 metres thick were encountered and two-stages of drilling were completed in July.
A thick bauxite layer has been discovered at Binjour with early assays indicating high qualities.
A new deposit averaging 3 to 5 metres thick has been discovered near Haden, 40km north of Toowoomba, southeastern QLD but laboratory results are still awaited.
The drilling rig and crews have moved to the Goulburn area, southern NSW where application of improved geological understanding of these bauxite occurrences has led to a significant increase in the frequency of bauxite intercepts.
Good thicknesses of bauxite up to 7 metres thick are being intersected in most drillholes. The consistency and extent of the bauxite is impressive but laboratory results are still awaited.
The drill rig is being relocated to commence drill testing of the large bauxite target areas discovered at Trundle in mid-west NSW this week.
The plan is to complete 1,000 drillholes during 2010 and then increasethe rate of exploration further so as to complete 1,400 holes during calendar year 2011.
The company's bauxite deposits are favourably located for direct shipping of bauxite to both local and export customers.
The ABx discoveries of bauxite in Tasmania are yet to be evaluated by drilling but bauxite is confirmed to extend over relatively large areas.
