A Canadian bauxite mining company says that it is achieving significant progress as it moves to establish an operation here at Bonasika, Essequibo.
First Bauxite Corporation in a press release on December 10 said that it is achieving significant progress in the preparation of a Feasibility Study for the development of the Bonasika Refractory Bauxite Project. The company has also commenced sonic drilling of the bauxite deposits contained in the Waratilla-Cartwright Prospecting License. “The aim of this drilling is to explore the extent, quality and continuity of the deposits and to prepare a NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate”, the statement said.
In relation to the Bonasika project, the company has done drilling and sampling at its Bonasika 1, 2 and 5 leases. Aluminpro (Aluminum Industry Professionals Inc.), which has been providing oversight of the Company’s drill programme since inception, has been contracted to prepare resource models and estimates for Bonasika 1 and 5 as a part of the current Bonasika Feasibility Study, the statement said. The Bonasika 2 results have yet to be finalized.
Another company, Met-Chem has the mandate to complete the Feasibility Study and current activities include mine planning, developing a bauxite beneficiation process flow sheet, site layouts and requirements for geotechnical work. “Golder and Associates have a team on site to undertake this geotechnical work. Met-Chem is also coordinating the work of its sub-contractor, Roche who are engaged in the tailings pound design, water management and related environmental aspects”, the statement said.
It noted that Met-Chem continues to advance the overall engineering design and is collating the various elements for operating and capital cost estimates. This will include engineering and cost data for the overall calcining stage that is being developed by Polysius Maerz. A draft of the Feasibility Study is expected to be available for the review of the Company in the first quarter of 2010, the statement said.
Meantime, in relation to resource drilling on the Waratilla-Cartwright PL, the company said that a recently purchased sonic drill rig has arrived at Waratilla, and after personnel training on safety and operating procedures an aggressive exploration campaign was started in late November. It noted that the Waratilla project is located some 6-10 km south east of the Company’s Bonasika 1 deposit and in March 2009, an initial five hole campaign in the northern part of the PL was done and the results yielded the best bauxite intersected by the Company to date in Guyana.
The company says that this campaign is intended to confirm and extend the resources identified in 1963 by DEMBA, a subsidiary of ALCAN within an area of 4km x 3km drilled by 64 holes. “This historical work had indicated approximately 12 million metric tonnes of high-alumina refractory (RASC) grade bauxite, as well as lower grade metallurgical bauxite”, the statement said. First Bauxite Corpora-tion is a Canadian natural resources company engaged in the exploration and development of bauxite deposits, through resource discovery and mining within a niche industrial market. Its website says that the company has its head-office in Vancouver. The company’s CEO and Director is Guyanese, Hilbert Shields, formerly of the exploration company Golden Star Resources Limited.
