# ABX - ABx Group



## Joe Blow (5 June 2010)

Australian Bauxite Limited (ABZ) is an exploration company that holds the core of the Eastern Australian Bauxite Province with 26 tenements in Queensland, NSW, Victoria and Tasmania covering over 6,500 km².

http://www.australianbauxite.com.au


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## springhill (25 July 2012)

*Re: ABZ - Australian Bauxite*

*Goulburn–Taralga Bauxite Resource up by 50% – 38 Million Tonnes*
• 37.9 million tonnes of thick, gibbsite-rich bauxite resources at Taralga, southern NSW
• Pre-feasibility studies expanded for Goulburn Bauxite Project due to thick bauxite discovered in February-March 2012. This resource upgrade includes the first thick zone.
• Based on 890 drill holes into less than two-thirds of the identified bauxite target areas at Taralga only
• 53% of total identified bauxite resources is DSO grade
• Pre Feasibility Study Metallurgical Tests confirmed that the remaining 47% of total identified bauxite resources, called PDM-DSO bauxite, contains dense, hard, magnetic emery nodules that are easily recovered by gravity screening for sale, leaving the remaining 70% light fraction as DSO grade bauxite
• The thick bauxite discovered in February-March 2012 is being explored along strike. A new record true thickness of 38 metres of continuous bauxite was intersected in hole TG707. Other thick zones were identified and drilled deeper for this resource upgrade

*Binjour Bauxite Resource Increased 46% to 24.5 Million Tonnes*
Company resources grow to 106 million tonnes
• 24.5 million tonnes of thick, gibbsite-rich bauxite resources at Binjour, central QLD
• Based on 517 drill holes into less than 25% of the identified bauxite layer
• Huge bauxite mineralisation - indentified bauxite layer extends over entire 44 square kilometre Binjour Plateau

*Metallurgical Results Encouraging: Silica Gel Removal to Expand DSO Bauxite Resources*
In the last 6 months, preliminary metallurgical tests have been conducted by a clay processing engineer who found that the silica gel substance was easily removed by a simple, low-cost washing procedure that may become a proprietary technology. The gel is soft and only loosely adhered to the bauxite, which allows for easy liberation when washed, leaving a recovered bauxite that is low-silica, high alumina DSO Grade Bauxite.
Work is continuing to develop a standard sample preparation protocol for future analysis of the silica gel-bearing bauxite samples by commercial laboratories so that large tracts of the bauxite layer can be included in future resource estimations.

*JORC Compliant Resource Statements*
The following are Joint Ore Reserve Code (“JORC”)-compliant Public Reports released to the ASX declaring the JORC resources referred to.
08/05/2012 ASX Inverell JORC Resource Update, 38.0 Million Tonnes
30/05/2012 ASX Taralga Bauxite Resource Increased 50% to 37.9 Million Tonnes
15/08/2011 ASX Maiden Guyra Resource, 6.0 Million Tonnes
29/07/2012 ASX Binjour Maiden Resource, 24.5 Million Tonnes


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## System (4 July 2014)

On July 4th, 2014, Australian Bauxite Limited changed its ASX code from ABZ to ABX.


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## piggybank (3 October 2014)

Trading halt called for today - http://www.stocknessmonster.com/news-item?S=ABX&E=ASX&N=821432


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## Dona Ferentes (9 February 2021)

from mid 2017


> ABX appears to be planning to enter the lithium ion battery market with "new technology" to produce Aluminium Fluoride, according to PR and roadshow presentation





> QUOTE " Ian Levy will be providing an overview on the development of bauxite beneficiation and refining technology to produce Aluminium Fluoride used in aluminium production and in lithium ion batteries, as reported briefly in the June Quarterly Report released on 28 July 2017. A patent application was lodged on 5 June 2017."




and, (hearty thanks to @barney and his daily **Price Sensitive** thread) there seems to be a tilt towards Rare Earths.



> _Australian Bauxite Limited (ASX:ABX) is pleased to report on early results from an exploration project carried out over the last 15 months involving rare earth elements (REE) that occur within the ABx bauxite horizon.  Assaying is by the NATA-registered ALS commercial laboratory, Brisbane. _




Looking at the Ann., it all sounds rather marginal. Buy ALS??


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## System (20 December 2021)

On December 20th, 2021, Australian Bauxite Limited changed its name to ABx Group Limited.


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## Dona Ferentes (28 December 2021)

_well, the enthusiasm to chase REEs and raise capital, placement then expanded SPP, on early results doesn't seem to translated to gains for participants. Now bouncing around between 10c and 11c for the last 5 weeks
_
ABX reported (in May 2021) confirmatory results from exploration at the DL130 bauxite project in northern Tasmania for *rare earth elements *(REE) that occur within the ABx bauxite geology and have the following features:

  The confirmatory sample has returned the highest level of REE enrichment discovered to date    
  In northern Tasmania, the most enriched element is Neodymium    
  Clays in the highly corroded _Source Rocks_ have been found to contain soluble REE    
  The mineralisation appears likely to be *Ionic Adsorption Clay *deposits which have been a major source of low-cost REE production in southern China    
As stated, the ABx Exploration Strategy is as follows: 
 1. To explore for REE that are in strongest demand.  ABx is exploring for Neodymium because its price is growing strongly and it is the main metal used for super-magnets that are critical strategic components in electric vehicles, wind turbines, smart phones and military electronics 
    2. To focus on a deposit type that can be quickly developed with a low capital cost and has a low operating cost.  So, ABx explores for the *Ionic Adsorption Clay *(IAC) style of mineralisation which is analogous with the IAC deposits that have produced REE in southern China using simple leaching.
    3. To explore in areas where an IAC leaching project will not interfere with alternative land use
    4. To always comply with the ABx paramount policy to leave land better than we find it and only operate where welcome

In May 2021, ABx completed a placement of 32,500,000 fully paid ordinary shares at $0.10 per share with attaching options on a 1 for 1 basis, exercisable at $0.20 before 31 May 2023 . A SPP followed  in October, setting out for $500K. While still open, subscriptions reached over $1.8 million; _"due to this overwhelming support from long standing supportive shareholders, the Directors have decided to vary the SPP Offer to ensure a fair and reasonable outcome." _

   Shareholders rally behind ABx Group Share Purchase Plan    
   Over $4 million raised with no scale back    
   Company well positioned to advance REE exploration


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## Dona Ferentes (29 January 2022)

Tim Boreham has a bit of a write-up/ plug for ABX:


Sometimes it’s the supposedly smaller things that can grind industry to a halt, such as the current shortage of the obscure diesel additive AdBlue.

Few outsiders would know that aluminium smelters require an ingredient called aluminium fluoride (AIF3), to enable the right chemical balance through the complex process of converting alumina (refined bauxite) to aluminium metal.

While Australia has a prosperous aluminium sector, it relies on imports – mainly from China – to keep the smelters humming. We’re the largest aluminium-producing region without a domestic AIF3 capacity.

According to ABx Group Executive Director Ian Levy, the federal government appreciated the importance of AIF3 post-war, when it created Comalco (now owned by Rio Tinto). As with other import-dependent activities, fostering a local supply was put in the too-hard basket. This short-sightedness is coming back to bite, with supply chain disruption becoming a major issue.


> “Currently some smelters are experiencing significant challenges because of container shipping delays for chemicals and other specialist raw materials ,” says Levy. “Imagine a bakery without the smallest thing: yeast. Without it you can’t make the bread. It’s the same for AlF3 in smelters.”



Like a decent loaf of sourdough, ABx’s 87 per cent owned subsidiary Alcore Technology is rising to the occasion with ambitious plans to build an AIF3 facility in Tasmania’s Tamar Valley, proximate to Rio Tinto’s Bell Bay smelter. Costed at $20 million, the plant would secure supply for the local industry and generate strong short-term cash flow for ABx, which also has promising plans to extract rare earths from its Tasmanian bauxite tenements.

Until late last year, the ASX-listed ABx was known as Australian Bauxite but changed its name to reflect its broader repertoire. 

Alcore plans to produce AIF3 using ‘spent bath’, a by-product generated from the smelting process itself. About half of this bath-waste is fluorine, a perfect source of AIF3. In contrast, most AIF3 traditionally is derived in a more expensive way from fluorspar – a purple crystal that has many other industrial (and ornamental) uses.

Investors may query why no-one else has cottoned on to spent bath as a cheaper and greener feedstock for AIF3 production. Levy says the answer lies with Alcore’s know-how, developed under the auspices of chemical engineer and Alcore CEO Dr Mark Cooksey. The process was perfected at Alcore’s Berkeley Vale labs on NSW’s central coast – one of only a small number of facilities globally that can carry out such research.



> “The process is innovative, requiring multiple steps with the right amount of temperature, pressure and acidity levels,” Levy says.



Alcore currently is undertaking a $1.5 million pilot plant program at the lab, with construction of its initial commercial plant at Bell Bay slated for late 2022. Alcore’s engineers have modelled the full-scale output of up to 60,000 tonnes per annum, which would generate earnings before interest and tax of $50 million a year.

The output is a small proportion of the total AIF3 global output of 1.5 million tpa, but a  10,000 to 20,000 tpa plant would go a long way of meeting Australia’s annual requirement of 25,000 tonnes. Currently AIF3 fetches $US1000-1800 a tonne, but current costs range up to $US1500/t as the cost of traditional fluorspar is rising.

By utilising waste from mainland smelters as well as Bell Bay, ABx expects production costs of $US650-900 per tonne and a long-term average price of $US1200/t.



> “During negotiations with customers none has mentioned price as a key factor,” Levy says. “We have a lot of support from western country smelters, they are all keen for us to perfect the technology and help them out.”




Further afield, ABx holds a half-share of the Sunrise Bauxite Project at Binjour, 115 kilometres west of Bundaberg, in joint venture with India’s Rawmin Mining. Budgeted at $15 million, the new project aims to sell half a million of tonnes of bauxite to alumina refineries in India and China. The Binjour deposit hosts higher-grade gibbsite-rich trihydrate bauxite, the material most suited to producing aluminium metal at low temperatures.

The venture will also own a large bulk-port facility at Bundaberg Port which is the only shipping gateway north of Brisbane that does not require vessels to cross the Great Barrier Reef.
Levy says Rawmin Mining has been extracting and shipping bauxite from India for more than 50 years and needs additional supply from Australia to supply customers during India’s wet season when all the ports are closed. Rawmin’s expertise in operating ports means the JV can expect significant revenues from Bundaberg, not just from bauxite. He notes that New Hope Corporation makes large side profits from operating a bulk facility at the Port of Brisbane.

ABx also owns the smaller scale Fingal Rail Project in Tasmania’s north, which is pitched at mining bauxite for the cement and fertiliser industries over at least 15 years. This output would replace ABx’s depleted Bald Hill mine nearby, which it has operated since 2015.
Levy says the business promises niche cash flow at small tonnages. But shipping from Tasmania is expensive, at least until Burnie Port expands to take Panamax-sized ships.

Levy says it’s possible that Alcore eventually will be demerged and separately listed, to maximise the potential of all of ABx’s assets.



> “Meanwhile, we expect Alcore to be the cash flow driver for ABx over the next three years – and a very valuable addition to the Australian aluminium industry.”


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## frugal.rock (10 February 2022)

Perhaps a goodun for the REE watchlist?
3 year weekly chart.


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## Miner (6 September 2022)

already 25% rose following Fat Prophet's recommendation.


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