ABX SHIPS over 33 400 tonne bauxite from Tasmania
12.11.2020Australian Bauxite Limited (ASX: ABX) has completed the shipment of its most recent sale of 33 405 tonnes of cement grade bauxite from its Bald Hill bauxite mine near Campbell Town northern Tasmania. Port operations were completed on schedule.
Ship loading at Bell Bay port, northern Tasmania. Five articulated ore trucks bring the bauxite for loading using ships gear
© Australian Bauxite Limited
ABx has remained focussed during the COVID-19 pandemic and secured sales contracts for fertiliser-grade bauxite and cement-grade bauxite that totalled more than US$ 2.5 million.
CEO, Ian Levy commented: “We are a disciplined team of motivated professionals who refused to let a pandemic stop us delivering essential supplies to our trusted customers. We have also not missed a beat in developing the Alcore hi-technology project which is achieving exceptional results. It's a privilege to work in this team. Watch this space."
Three of the five ships holds are loaded simultaneously which helps to homogenise the entire cargo
© Australian Bauxite Limited
Mine production by Hazell Bros contractors and transporting to Bell Bay port by Dave Wagner & Son Pty Ltd was completed within budget before the recent cold spell in Tasmania and benefited from low fuel prices. The customer was also able to take advantage of shipping opportunities. The coordinated strategy has worked well for all concerned. ABx has long-standing relationships with experienced contractors that meet the strict specification targets and community expectations.
Australian Bauxite Limited (ABx)’s 89 %-owned subsidiary, ALCORE Limited (Alcore) is conducting advanced laboratory production of aluminium fluoride (AlF3) from aluminium smelters’ by-product waste materials and producing AlF3 from ABx’s clean bauxite. Alcore has received chemical analyses from CSIRO Laboratory, Melbourne which confirm that recent AlF3 produced by Alcore achieved commercial chemical grades.
This commercial-grade AlF3 was made from 30 % dross waste and 70 % gibbsite mineral. A new pre-treatment method had been applied to both compounds that appears to work well. AlF3 is a strategically important mineral product because it is a key ingredient in the smelting of aluminium metal and reduces the electrical power consumption per tonne of aluminium. It is also used in the new-generation rechargeable lithium ion battery industry.
Alcore is planning to be the first domestic producer of AlF3 so as to diversify supply for Australasian smelters and to export to other smelters world-wide. AlF3 is an essential electrolyte ingredient in aluminium smelters. Global demand for AlF3 increases as aluminium smelter production increases and the use of AlF3 in lithium-ion batteries increases. Market prices are still around the long-term average price of US$ 1200/t.
Alcore plans to be the first producer of AlF3 in the southern hemisphere, starting at the production rate of approximately 10 000 tonnes of AlF3 per year which is a small percentage of the 1.5 million tonne global market for AlF3.
Alcore’s business plan is to increase production steadily by commissioning 5 of these 10 000 tonne production modules at an industrial site in Bell Bay, northern Tasmania in an industrial precinct that currently has an aluminium smelter, a manganese smelter and an aluminium powder plant all powered by hydro-power. Alcore’s recycling strategy would improve the environmental credentials of Bell Bay Aluminium.
