Australian Bauxite Limited (ABx) updated its Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for Deep Leads – Rubble Mound project this week, raising it above 20 million metric tons of rare earth elements (REE).
The company said that the MRE increased by 50 percent since the last assessment. Infill assaying of the area raised resource thickness by ten percent and grade by 15 percent.
ABx said that results are still pending for the last three dozen drill holes, but the latest drilling has revealed significantly thicker zones of REE, up to 100 feet in depth.
ABx Group Managing Director and CEO Mark Cooksey elaborated upon the new test results in a press release.
“This substantial upgrade of the Mineral Resource arises from 30 new holes, redrilling old bauxite holes that did not reach the REE horizon and more assays from incompletely assayed thick REE zones. As predicted, the thickness of the mineralised horizon has increased by 10% to 7.7m and the grade has increased by 15%. The grades and thickness of the more closely drilled Indicated Resources category have increased significantly.”
“ABx has assessed available production technologies and recently commenced field and lab testing of production alternatives, focussing on production at the all-important pH 4 (same acidity as apple juice),” he noted. “Only true ionic adsorption clay REE deposits like ABx’s can deliver high recoveries using benign, low-cost processing. Our work with Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) confirmed our mineralisation as ionic adsorption clay.”
Cooksey continued by noting that the significant quantity of high-value permanent magnet rare earths possessed a significant commercial value in the advanced technological fields.
“Not all clays are created equal and, while REEs in clays are an emerging exploration target, very few deposits globally are confirmed as ionic adsorption clay REE mineralisation that are amenable to low-cost benign production methods.”
ABx said that improved results prompted it to make a request to explore for further REE for six to nine miles to the Wind Break REE discovery to the east.
Based in Sydney, ABx conducts operations in Tasmania, Queensland, and New South Wales. The firm boasts combined JORC resources of 124 million metric tons in twenty-two tenements covering almost two thousand square kilometers in Eastern Australia. Its Binjour tenement in Queensland is considered by the company to be its flagship project.
