3rd Milestone Achieved ALCORE and Testwork Commenced
Sydney, July 3, 2019 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Australian Bauxite Limited's (
ASX:ABX)(A7B:FRA) wholly-owned subsidiary, ALCORE Limited has commenced the chemical refining of ABx bauxite into aluminium fluoride (AlF3), commencing with removal of silicon and iron oxides to create a clear solution containing the aluminium fluoride that will be produced by a crystalliser-still stage in coming days.
This milestone was achieved successfully last week at the ALCORE Research Centre in Berkeley Vale, Central Coast NSW - next focus on designing the optimum blend of bauxite and reagents for the ALCORE mini-production plant
- Construction of the sophisticated mini-production plant was completed over the last 4 months
- ALCORE's patent (pending) application technology is designed to refine raw bauxite to produce Aluminium Fluoride (AlF3) and valuable co-products. AlF3 is an essential electrolyte ingredient in aluminium smelters
- Global demand for AlF3 is increasing strongly as aluminium smelter production increases and the use of AlF3 in lithium ion batteries increases
- Co-products include Corethane, which is pure hydrocarbon powder refined from low-value coals that can be a gas or diesel substitute and has many industrial applications
- Corethane has been used as a diesel substitute for fuel security purposes and is ideally suited for use as a sulphur-free bunker fuel for shipping under new strict emissions laws
- Discussions continue with governments, agencies and major companies in the aluminium industry
ABx CEO, Ian Levy commented: "The ALCORE Research Centre has created a laboratory with the highest standards of safety, equipment and technology. At the same time, the ALCORE team designed and constructed the ALCORE mini-production plant which will be our 4th milestone over the next few weeks. The mini-production plant will supply test samples to our three prospective customers.
"I have never seen a more powerful reagent for dissolving rocks - our 4mm sized bauxite was reduced to iron-dust and a clear liquor within a few minutes. ALCORE's powerful new bauxite refining technology can lead to Australia's first production of AlF3 products to provide security of supply for Australasian aluminium smelters. ALCORE's production of Corethane hydrocarbon can change the energy supply and fuel security outlook for eastern Australia.
"ABx is also pressing ahead with its three core bauxite projects; the Tasmanian mine, the large Binjour Project in central QLD and the Penrose refractory bauxite project 90km inland of Port Kembla NSW. Bulk sampling and processing testwork at the Binjour Project was completed last week and assays are pending."
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About ABx Group Limited
ABx Group Limited (ABx) (ASX:ABX) started as a bauxite miner in Tasmania in 2014 & controls the Eastern Australian Bauxite Province. In 2020 to 2023, ABx also discovered Australia’s only true ionic adsorption clay Rare Earth Elements resource at Deep Leads in pine plantations 40km west of Launceston with a JORC-compliant resource of 89 million tonnes from only 29% of the mineralised outline, averaging 844 ppm total rare earth oxides that is the most enriched in the critically important rare earths, Dy and Tb, of any Australian REE deposit.
ABx has also developed a proprietary technology to produce fluorine chemicals from an aluminium smelter waste product and return the fluorine back into the smelters, thus reducing reliance on imported aluminium fluoride.
ABx has committed a large proportion of its expenditure into Research and Development and has found ways to capitalise on the main strengths of its bauxite type which is very clean, free of all deleterious elements and can be separated into different product streams using physical, chemical and geophysical methods. It has produced and marketed specialist bauxite products for the manufacturers of fertiliser, cement with high late strength for major infrastructure such as bridges and is in the advanced stages of approvals for production of metallurgical bauxite from its Binjour Bauxite deposit with JORC-compliant resources of 37 million tonnes of bauxite, in a joint development with a Chinese-focussed Australian trading company Good Importing International.
ABx is also preparing to produce fertiliser grade and cement grade bauxite from its DL130 bauxite quarry in northern Tasmania, 40km west of Launceston. This quarry is sited in the middle of the large Deep Leads REE deposit and may one day be a site for heap leaching of the REE using a low-cost, benign leachate with the same acidity as apple juice or tea.
ABx endorses best practices on agricultural land, strives to leave land and environment better than we find it. We only operate where welcomed.
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