Australian Bauxite Limited (ABx) released financial and operating results for the third quarter on Sunday. The firm continued to see a rise in bauxite shipments, and it reports steady progress on its project to develop commercially-viable aluminium fluoride.
At the end of the quarter ABx held A$1.7 million in available cash, with about A$1.3 million still on hand. Sales for the quarter of both cement- and fertilizer-grade bauxite totaled 33,915 metric tons, earning the firm over A$2.4 million.
ABx’s shipments of cement-grade bauxite for the quarter came to 33,405 metric tons, all of which passed through its facilities at Bell Bay and delivered on time. The firm delivered an additional 509 metric tons of fertilizer-grade bauxite harvested from its Bald Hill Mine to domestic buyer Impact Fertilisers in Hobart, Tasmania. ABx reports that new orders for fertilizer-grade bauxite continue to increase as droughts in the area end and agricultural demand for fertilizer increases.
Turning to the ALCORE project, ABx reports that it continues to be in contact with Japanese trading firm Sojitz regarding potential buyers for its aluminium fluoride (AlF3). To date, the project has shown the ability to harvest fluoride acid from aluminium smelter waste, derive AlF3 from aluminium hydroxide to produce a product to commercial specifications, and produce it at moderate yields with few impurities. ALCORE has also demonstrated the ability to produce Corethane, which is a gas substitute for coke.
Altogether, ABx says it currently possesses the ability to convert a US$50 of bauxite ore into a range of products that will sell altogether for over US$800, while turning the by-products of the aluminium smelter to saleable AlF3.
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.