Shares in VBX, a new entrant in Australia’s bauxite sector, traded higher on its ASX debut following a successful USD 10 million IPO, owing to the strong investor confidence in the company’s promising Wuudagu project in Western Australia.
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Listed under the ticker VBX, the stock opened trading and quickly climbed 15 per cent to reach USD 0.69 by June 17, 11:11 am. The IPO attracted several institutional investors, including Deutsche Balaton, Lowell Resources Fund and Terra Capital, reflecting market enthusiasm for the company’s strategy and asset base.
VBX is the sole developer of the Wuudagu bauxite project, located in the remote Kimberley region of northern WA, around 15 km west of Kalamburu. The project hosts a 59 Mt reserve, boasting a high-grade specification of 45.4 per cent Al₂O₃ and 3.6 per cent SiO₂, closely resembling the bauxite quality found in Guinea, the world’s leading bauxite exporter to China.
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“That’s the unique aspect about Wuudagu, is that it’s essentially a Guinea spec product, 45 per cent alumina, 3 per cent silica, then you’ve got the advantage of being in Australia, low sovereign risk, (short) shipping distance to China,” said Ryan De Franck, VBX founder and managing director.
VBX aims to commence production by the fourth quarter of 2026, following key milestones including the completion of a definitive feasibility study (DFS) by late 2025, project financing in mid-2026, and receipt of environmental approvals shortly thereafter. A recently completed pre-feasibility study (PFS) outlined a 10-year mine life, with plans to ship 3.5 Mtpa via a transhipment jetty on WA’s north coast.
The PFS assumes an all-in sustaining cost of 35.64 USD/t, generating average annual EBITDA of 94.38 million USD. It used a conservative bauxite price estimate of USD 65/t CFR, though current market prices remain elevated, around USD 70/t for Australian bauxite and USD74.50/t for Guinean shipments, driven by rising demand in China and recent supply disruptions in Guinea.
VBX enters a relatively niche space on the ASX, which includes major players like Rio Tinto, South32 and Alcoa, but few pure-play bauxite-focused companies. With growing interest in high-quality alumina feedstock and the need for diversified supply chains, VBX is positioned to offer a competitive alternative to West African producers.
De Franck noted the strategic decision to opt for an IPO rather than private funding: “The benefit of us doing the IPO, as opposed to other funding options that were available, is that you’re going to retain all that strategic value in the project as we de-risk it over the next 12 to 18 months.”
Originally identified by BHP in the 1960s, the Wuudagu deposit remained largely unexplored until VBX took over. With about half the tenement still undrilled, the company sees significant upside. “We think that we’ve got additional bauxite within our licences that we want to test and explore and the focus this year is doing that,” De Franck added. “And then that’ll kind of drive the annual production rate and the mine life as part of the updates to the DFS.”
As the global bauxite market shifts and Australia looks to strengthen its role, VBX’s high-grade, strategically located project may be a game-changer in the evolving aluminium supply landscape.
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