Bauxite hills
http://www.metrocoal.com.au
bauxite,
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Cnr Lytton Road and Strafford St, East Brisbane, QLD, 4169
State: Cnr Lytton Road and Strafford St, East Brisbane, QLD, 4169
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The Bauxite Hills port and mine project is located five kilometres southeast of the Skardon River port and 95 kilometres north of Weipa, on the Cape York Peninsula, in northern Queensland. The area surrounding the Bauxite Hills project site, on the western side of the Cape York Peninsula, is renowned around the world for its high quality, high grade bauxite deposits.
Bauxuite Hills Project to Produce a low Cost Mining Operation
A recent review of the Bauxite Hills project found it was feasible for the mine to produce a DSO (direct shipping ore) that could be shipped out of either the Skardon, or Ducie Rivers, that would contribute to the economic viability of the already low operating and low capital cost project. This review has encouraged the project's management to continue with putting the project through its preliminary stages of obtaining environmental approvals, as well as the completion of technical studies to prove the existence of an economically viable DSO mine that would return a successful feasibility study.Bauxite Hills Project Concept Study was First Step
The Cape Alumina company completed a project concept study in March 2011 as a first step in creating another major mining project on western Cape York Peninsula. Between August and September 2011, 2,569 exploratory holes were drilled at a total depth of 7,000 metres.This resulted in Cape Alumina announcing in February 2012 that the project has an Inferred Resource totalling 60 million tonnes of export quality high grade bauxite. It is expected that the deposit would yield 42 million tonnes of beneficiated dry bauxite grading around 51.6 percent alumina and 9.5 percent silica.Bauxite Hills Able to Produce Five Million Tonnes of Bauxite Annuallyfor 10 Years
The bauxite resource at Bauxite Hills enjoys a low strip ratio, as well as being very shallow and free digging. It is close to the coast and near international shipping routes. Shipping costs will be low, as well as refinery input costs, owing to the resource having a low bauxite to alumina ratio and a high alumina content. This composition is markedly different to bauxite deposits located away from the Weipa region. A 2012 study has predicted the Bauxite Hills mine could produce five million tonnes of high quality, export grade, bauxite that would be sufficient to last for the next 10 years.Bauxite Hills Exploratory Drilling From Back of Small 4x4 Truck
Exploratory drilling of the Bauxite Hills bauxite deposit was carried out with the use of a Mantis 100 reverse Circulation aircore drill rigg, on the back of a small 4x4 truck, by Wallis Drilling Pty Ltd. The drill holes were rather shallow, being no more than four to six metres. They were drilled in a vertical fashion using HQ rods fitted to a 96 mm aircore drill bit.The coming on line of the Bauxite Hills Project is encouraged by reports that the Government of India is about to increase its export tax on bauxite from 10 percent to 20 percent and reports that the Middle East, China and India are about to increase demand for alumina owing to their rising consumption and production of aluminium. As a result of an expected increased in the demand and supply of alumina it is also expected to bring with it a corresponding increase in the bauxite price in coming periods.
The Cape Alumina company was acquired by MetroCoal Limited in November, 2014. MetroCoal Limited is an Australian coal mining company that has several thermal coal mining projects in Queensland's Surat Basin. The purchase of Cape Alumina's Bauxite Hills project also gives MetroCoal exploration permits in the western Cape York Peninsula covering around 1,900 square kilometres. The only other company with larger exploration tenements in the area is Rio Tinto Alcan.
