Balline garnet project

The Balline Garnet Project is located 120 kilometres north of Geraldton, on the west coast of Western Australia. The project will mine industrial minerals as well as incorporate a dry and wet processing plant to facilitate mineral separation. The main mineral being sought by the mining operation will be alluvial almandine garnet, a mineral that is both unique and highly sought after as an abrasive that is eco-friendly. Garnet mined at the Balline sand mining operation will be mainly used for abrasive sand blasting and high-technology water jet cutting.

Australian Garnet Pty Ltd Acquired the Balline Garnet Project From Altura Mining in 2014

The former owner of the Balline Garnet Project, Altura Mining, sold the project to Australian Garnet Pty Ltd in February, 2014. Australian Garnet is a subsidiary of Singapore based, privately owned company, Garnet International Group Pty Ltd . Australian Garnet Pty Ltd is a company structured to specialise in research, marketing, development and distribution of top quality garnet products mined in Western Australia. Its products will be primarily used in the industrial sector of the economy, as well as in the resource and energy sector and world wide in water jet cutting industries.

Balline Garnet Project Fully Licenced and Ready to go

The Balline Garnet Project has successfully obtained all governmental approvals and licences for the mine to be further advanced. Production planning is already underway with management and key company personnel working closely together to develop the project's production capacity that will allow top quality Australian almandine garnet to be on the world market by 2016, to meet growing demand from Eastern Europe, South America, Asia, Middle East, Europe, USA and Australia. The project is fortunate in that it is situated near existing transport routes and the existing township facilities where mine employees can be accommodated.

Australian Garnet have two key garnet mining operations currently being developed in Western Australia, these are located at Menari and Balline, both are in reasonable proximity to each other and both near key infrastructure that includes transport and accommodation which will allow each site to be effectively manned and developed.

Garnet is a group of complex minerals that share similar properties but often differ in chemical composition, hardness and colour. Members of the garnet group include; Uvarovite, Andradite, Spessartine, Pyrope, Grossular and Almandine. The Western Australian variety of Almandine is one of two varieties that have commercial viability because of their durability and hardness.

Australian Almandine Garnet is a Niche Product

Australian almandine garnet is eco-friendly and is a niche commodity in its own right, especially for its industrial usage in the energy, infrastructure and resource sectors of industry, particularly in mine processing plants and on oil rigs. Garnet sand is well known for its water jet cutting capabilities when applied to the cutting of steel, glass, rubber, marble, granite and non-ferrous metals. It is commonly used for metal sand blasting purposes on construction operations. It is rising in demand as industry moves away from silica sand that has previously been used for the same purposes. However, silica is dangerous to workers health in that it can cause silicosis, whereas garnet sand is safe.