Latest news with #alumina
The Australian
03-06-2025
- Business
- The Australian
WYX boosts bauxite position in WA
Special Report: Western Yilgarn has expanded its bauxite footprint within WA's Darling Range bauxite mineral field with the acquisition of the Cardea 3 project. Western Yilgarn expands WA bauxite portfolio with Cardea 3 acquisition Historical drilling has returned high-grade alumina exceeding that mined at the nearby Worsley Alumina Operations Cardea 3 is near major highway and multi-user railway It follows closely on the WA Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety awarding exploration licences E70/6702 and E70/6703 – the Cardea 1 and 2 project areas – in late May. Western Yilgarn (ASX:WYX) paid the vendor a $5000 cash deposit on executing the terms sheet and will make a further cash payment of $20,000 and issue $25,000 worth of shares at an issue price equal to the 20-day volume weighted average price once the exploration licence application is granted. Cardea 3 has seen some historical exploration with 422 vacuum drill holes completed to date. Of these, 139 have been analysed for available alumina and reactive silica. Results from this work indicate that high-grade bauxite is present with available alumina – the portion of Ai2O3 that can be extracted under Bayer process conditions – exceeding 34.5% and reactive silica content of 3.14%. This compares very favourably with the average mining grades of 28.7% available alumina and 1.9% reactive silica at South32's (ASX:S32) nearby Worsley Alumina Operations. Surface bauxite mineralisation has also been defined over a 3km by 1km area with a laterite profile typical of Darling Range bauxite deposits. 'We are extremely pleased with the acquisition of the Cardea 3 project, which provides significant scalability and strong potential to further increase both bauxite tonnage and grade through continued exploration—particularly in the western portion of the exploration licence area,' non-executive director Pedro Kastellorizos said. 'The project's proximity to a multi-user railway, within trucking distance, is a key logistical advantage, especially in the current market environment of record alumina and bauxite prices.' Cardea 3 location. Pic: Western Yilgarn Cardea 3 project Cardea 3 sits within the Darling Scarp Bauxite Province – a key bauxite region centred on Pinjarra, Waroona and Worsley, which are major aluminium production hubs about 80km to 150km south of Perth. It is about 17.5km east of the company's Julimar West bauxite project and can be accessed from Perth via the Great Northern Highway and is well supported by the Perth Kalgoorlie Railway line to the south of the project area. Results from the vacuum drilling have indicated that the highest grade zones – exceeding 40% Ai2O3 - are concentrated in the central and southern portions of the exploration licence area. WYX added that data to date indicated that alumina and reactive silica for this deposit may be comparable to nearby bauxite mining operations such as the Worsley Alumina Operations. Surface and drilling geochemistry, along with the interpreted geophysics has highlighted multiple targets proximal to the west and south of the current tenure areas. Regional mapping and interpretation of the Western Australia Geological Survey has delineated laterite and pisolitic gravels in which the bauxite occurs. These areas will be systematically targeted once the company starts first pass exploration. This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.
Zawya
09-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Guinea aims to pull EGA's licence over alumina refinery row, sources say
CONAKRY - The Guinean government's move to revoke Emirates Global Aluminium's (EGA) mining license stemmed from the company's failure to fulfil its commitment to construct an alumina refinery, people familiar with the matter have told Reuters. Reuters reported on Wednesday that Guinea has launched a process to revoke the EGA licence, escalating a dispute that began in October with the suspension of the Emirati company's bauxite exports and mining operations. The move by Guinea, the world's second-largest bauxite exporter, threatens to further disrupt global aluminium supply chains and signals the resource-rich country's hardening stance toward foreign miners as the junta that seized power in September 2021 pushes for more local processing of minerals. "The Guinean government's action was taken following EGA's failure to keep its promise to build an alumina refinery," a source close to the situation said, requesting anonymity because they were not authorized to speak. A second source within Guinea's Ministry of Mines told Reuters that officials had sent a final reminder letter to EGA regarding its refinery commitments, but the company did not respond. A key point of the letter revolved around financing for the refinery, the source said. Emirates Global Aluminium, equally owned by Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala, and Dubai sovereign wealth fund, the Investment Corporation of Dubai, began operating in Guinea in 2019 through its Guinea Aluminium Corporation subsidiary, and exported around 14 million metric tons of bauxite in 2022. In May 2022, the government extended a deadline for bauxite miners to present their refinery plans, and signed a non-binding agreement with EGA's local subsidiary in June 2024 for a 2 million metric ton capacity refinery to be constructed by September 2026. The company was forced to declare force majeure after its bauxite exports were suspended in October last year, ultimately putting hundreds of employees on furlough, according to sources and a company contracted to carry out mining operations. The company said in a statement to Reuters on Wednesday that it was working with Guinea to reach a resolution and resume operations. (Reporting by Saliou Samb in Conakry, Hadeel Al Sayegh in Dubai and Maxwell Akalaare Adombila in Dakar Writing by Bate Felix; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
