China's bauxite imports fall 39.8% from year ago

China has witnessed a 39.8% decline in June’s imports from a year ago, down to 19.5 million tonnes.

The fall is attributed to last year’s high base following large stockpiling and the preference to consume on-hand stocks.

Except for one shipment of Indonesian ore in May, no arrivals of Indonesian goods have been reported since this April after the country implemented its export ban on unprocessed ore early this year.

Shipments of bauxite increased from outside Indonesia by 37.9% from May to 2.93 million tonnes in June.

Imports grew in June from Ghana, Brazil and Malaysia by 176.6%, 187.6% and 92.3% respectively, all on a yearly basis.

ASX-listed Bauxite Companies

Some companies that could be of interest to investors include:

Bauxite Resources holds a portfolio of bauxite projects throughout Western Australia’s Darling Range, the largest bauxite producing region in the world.

The company had in June delivered a resource upgrade for its Fortuna deposit to 40.2 million tonnes at 31.2% low temperature available AI2O3 and 1.8% reactive silica (5.6% total).

Notably, Fortuna has the potential to produce a DSO product.

The project is located on two private landholdings located 60 kilometres northeast of Perth and 15 kilometres of existing rail infrastructure that links to the Kwinana port 120 kilometres away as well as the Bunbury Port approximately 250 kilometres away.

The resource is not constrained and a number of neighbouring properties within the exploration tenement have been identified as being prospective to expand the existing resource base.

It is near surface and therefore easy to mine while requiring no beneficiation.

Taken together, this offers Bauxite Resources a potential low capital expenditure start-up opportunity.

In mid-July, the company also increased the resource base at its Athena bauxite deposit in the Darling Range, Western Australia by 59% to 36.2 million tonnes.

Notably, this has 32.8% (low temp) available alumina (41.8% total) and 2.8% reactive silica. Bauxite is currently progressing a concept study for Fortuna. This was being carried out by AMC Consultants.

The study will examine the viability of an operating rate in the range of 2-4 million tonnes per annum.

Additional activities to be undertaken and their targeted timings are:

- Environmental Baseline studies – Q4 2014;
- Commence Offtake discussions – Q4 2014;
- Infill/Expansion drilling at Fortuna – Q1 2015;
- Community Engagement & Consultation – Commence Q1 2015;
- Preparation and submission of Mining Proposal – Q1-Q2 2015; and
- Feasibility Study to support final investment decision – Q3-Q4 2015

Bauxite Resources had $40.9 million in cash as of 30 June 2014 and no debt. It plans to return $0.04 per share to shareholders in the form of a capital return totalling about $9.3 million.

Queensland Bauxite has confirmed an initial bauxite resource of 30 million tonnes at its South Johnstone project in Queensland, which has also received more enquiries for offtake.

It will now undertake a more extensive drilling program to further delineate the size, grade and shape the bauxite deposit with a view to commencing mining as soon as possible.

There is potential to host up to 300 tonnes of bauxite.

The company is also looking to upgrade part of the Inferred Resource to a JORC Indicated and/or Measured Resource.

South Johnstone tenement covers an area of 400 square kilometres and is situated within 16 kilometres west of the deep water port of Mourilyan in North Queensland.

An existing narrow gauge railway which runs through the tenement to the port of Mourilyan and there is a network of bitumen and gravel roads within the tenement that lead to the port.

Queensland Bauxite had $4.11 million in cash as of 30 June 2014.