Bauxite Resources (ASX: BAU) has completed Phase 1 of the Bauxite Alumina Joint Ventures Study for the development of an alumina refinery in the south west of Western Australia.
Further assay and resource modelling for northern tenements will be completed over the next 3-6 months.
Bauxite Resources and Yankuang Resources established two joint ventures on April 1, 2011, the Bauxite Resource Joint Venture and the Alumina Refinery Joint Venture.
Both of these joint ventures are managed by jointly owned company Bauxite Alumina Joint Ventures.
Phase 1 of the study involved obtaining sufficient geological data in the joint venture’s northern tenement to provide information for making decisions about the refinery.
An internal draft refinery scoping study and a series of financial models have been completed, to contribute to Phase 2, which will focus on geological exploration in the southern tenements.
Phase 2 will aim to gain sufficient data to assess the merits of a refinery located in the northern or southern areas.
This comparison will look at:
- the likely quality and location of bauxite sources in each region
- the metallurgical variability of the different bauxite and mineralogy profiles
- the preferred bauxite/alumina process path
- environmental and social issues
- infrastructure requirements
- economics
With Phase 1 of the joint venture now complete, the Bauxite Alumina Joint Venture will operate separately from the parent companies, with an independent general manager to be appointed.