Lake nerramyne

The Lake Nerramyne clay mining operation is owned and operated by Hudson Resources' Sorbent Materials Division. It is located 150 kilometres north east of Geraldton in Western Australia. The clay is mined for its attapulgite content, also known as Fullers Earth. Attapulgite is a magnesium aluminium phyllosilicate clay mineral that is used widely in medicine and cosmetics.

Lake Nerramyne Clay Mining has Taken Place Since 1979
Hudson Resources has four mining leases at their Lake Nerramyne clay mining site covering an area of 2,700 hectares that has a JORC Inferred Resource of 23.4 million tonnes of attapulgite with 9.4 million tonnes regarded as being of a high grade. The Inferred Resource accounts for 40 percent of the leases held by Hudson. The mine has been operated on a seasonal basis since 1979, first by Mallina Holdings and now by Hudson Resources.

Attapulgite Mining at Lake Nerramyne is a Seasonal Occurrence
Mining takes place irregularly at the Lake Nerramyne Mine because of it being a seasonal operation. An amount of 8,165 tonnes of attapulgite was sold by Hudson Resources during the first quarter of 2012 during their 2012 campaign, which was completed by the end of June after 26,000 BCM (bank cubic metres) of attapulgite was mined. The mine currently produces an average output of 40,000 tonnes of raw attapulgite annually.

Research and Development is Ongoing at Lake Nerramyne
Mine operator, Hudson Resources Sorbent Minerals Division, undertake a research and development program at Lake Nerramyne that concentrates on a wide range of environmental remediation issues, particularly that of environmental contamination. This is an ongoing process that ensures the minimum disruption of the local environment occurs.

The Many Uses of Lake Nerramyne Attapulgite
The attapulgite, or Fullers Earth, that is mined at Lake Nerramyne, outperforms any other similar type of 'whitening clay' in the fight against oily skin and acne. It is a material found in some sedimentary clays, such as that at Lake Nerramyne, and consists of alumina, silica, magnesia, lime, iron oxide and water. It's molecular structure is unique, a feature that gives it the ability to remove impurities and oily substances from skin that gives it a whitening effect. It is also used as a dry shampoo. It's more common uses include the following:

• As a catalyst in the chemical and petroleum industries
• In agriculture as a pesticide carrier
• In various pharmaceuticals
• Face packs and cosmetic creams
• As a cat litter
• For the improvement in UV spectrometer readings and PNC values
• in petroleum oil distillates
• De-colourising of beer, animal and vegetable products, petroleum
• oils, fat, waxes, grease and solvents.

Attapulgite is widely used in laundries in the removing of stains, particularly that of oil and grease origin. It is also useful for scouring and has been found to be far better than soap or solvents for cleaning heavily soiled fabrics.
The Lake Nerramyne clay mine operation has been producing high quality attapulgite (Fullers Earth) since 1979 and still has considerable reserves. It is regarded as producing the best quality attapulgite available which is of
substantial benefit to the Australian market.
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