Release of Cape York Regional Interests map supports Cape Alumina’s focus on Bauxite Hills

On Friday 13 June the Queensland Government commenced the Regional Planning Interests Act 2014 by proclamation and also made the Regional Planning Interests Regulation 2014.

This legislation establishes the approval process for resource activities in areas of regional interest.

Maps outlining the Regional Interests Areas for the Cape York Region - including Strategic Environmental Areas (SEAs) - were incorporated into the Regulation ahead of the release of the Cape York Regional Plan.

The Cape York Regional Interests map confirms the significant impact of the Regional Interests Planning Act on Cape Alumina’s (ASX: CBX) Pisolite Hills project tenements. However, there is no impact to any of the company’s bauxite tenements to the north of Pisolite Hills which include the Bauxite Hills mine and port project area.

Accordingly, Cape Alumina will continue to focus on the development of the Bauxite Hills mine and port project. The Cape York Regional Plan is due to be released by the Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning in the next few months.

About Bauxite Hills mine and port project

The proposed Bauxite Hills mine and port project is located approximately 95 kilometres north of Weipa on western Cape York, Queensland, within the bauxite plateau between the Ducie and Skardon Rivers and just five kilometres south-east of the existing port at Skardon River.

Cape Alumina has estimated an Inferred Resource of 60 million tonnes (Mt) of in-situ,high-quality, export-grade bauxite which is one of the largest undeveloped bauxite projects in Queensland.

*This is expected to yield 42 Mt of beneficiated, dry-product bauxite at average grades of 51.6 per cent alumina (Al2O3) and 9.5 per cent silica (SiO2).

Further analysis is being undertaken to determine if a Direct Shipping Ore (DSO) which is acceptable in the international traded bauxite market can be also be produced from the resource.

The resources at Bauxite Hills have low strip ratios and are contained in very shallow, free - digging deposits. The deposits are located close to coastal waters and international shipping routes, and have a high alumina content with low bauxite to alumina ratios, which mean lower shipping costs and lower overall refinery input costs compared to bauxite deposits outside the Weipa region.