CAPE ALUMINA LTD - ASX: CBX

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Description

Brisbane-based, Cape Alumina is Australia's leading pure-play bauxite company with 1,900km2 of exploration tenements on western Cape York, Queensland. Cape Alumina, in fact, has the largest temement holdings outside RioTinto Alcan (RTA) mining leases in the world renowned Weipa Bauxite Province. Cape Alumina has international support from Chinese alumina majors including Xinfa, one of China’s largest aluminium producers, and has established strong ties with the local Cape York community.

Cape Alumina is presently advancing the second of its major projects - the Bauxite Hills mine and port project, which is located 95km north of Weipa and 5km south of the Skardon River. Cape Alumina is also evaluating the development of the 7mtpa Pisolite Hills project. If developed, these projects will position Cape Alumina among the top ten bauxite producers in the world and one of the major suppliers of bauxite to the rapidly expanding markets in the Asia-Pacific region.

Western Cape York Bauxite Project

The Western Cape York Bauxite Project is situated in the world class Weipa Bauxite Province approximately 2000km NW of Brisbane in Queensland, Australia. The project comprises five mining lease applications, twelve granted Exploration Permits for minerals and six exploration permit applications covering over 2400km2 of land prospective for bauxite mineralisation. The applications contain several bauxite deposits discovered in the 1960’s and 70’s as well as numerous un-tested plateau areas of potential bauxite mapped using remote sensing techniques by Cape Alumina geologists.

Cape Alumina plans to initially evaluate key bauxite deposits for potential surface mining, beneficiation, haulage and barging to offshore-moored ships for export. The envisaged operations will likely use conventional mining and beneficiation techniques and large capacity, heavy-haul road trains coupled with barge-loaded Panamax ships for export. At the completion of each annual mining campaign subsoil and top soil will be replaced and re-spread, contoured and seeded in preparation for the wet season.

Cape Alumina will seek to prove sufficient reserves to justify and sustain an annual production and shipping rate of 5.0 to 7.0 mtpa of bauxite with ?50% Al2O3 and <9% Reactive Silica over a 10 to 20 year mine life. Cape has been conducting a community consultation programme in Western Cape York and has negotiated land access for exploration with a number of aboriginal groups.

Pisolite Hills Bauxite Deposit

Cape Alumina's flagship Pisolite Hills project is situated approximately 50km NE of Weipa and lies ~34 km from a planned stockpile and barge loading site on Port Musgrave. A Preliminary Feasibility Study of the project was completed in July, 2008 which outlined a potentially robust commercial development of Pisolite Hills. A bankable feasibility study is planned to be completed in late 2010.

In October 2008 Cape Alumina signed a legally binding take - or pay offtake agreement with Xinfa for the sale of 1Mtpa of bauxite and has received strong expressions of interest from a number of Chinese refineries for the future purchase of bauxite from Pisolite Hills.

The current resource estimate of 132.4Mt (27.5Mt Measured + 56.1Mt Indicated + 48.8Mt Inferred) of insitu bauxite is set out in the table below. Further drilling in the 2009 field season will aim to increase the percentage of the resource in the Measured and Indicated categories. The mineralisation outlined to date is suitable for blending feed for the new generatiopn of Chinese low temperature bayer alumina refineries.

Mine For

bauxite

Location of operation(s)

Queensland

Address

Suite 6 / 56 Peel Street
SOUTH BRISBANE, QLD, Australia

Phone

(61 7) 3844 9911

Email

Website

http://www.capealumina.com.au/

Last Updated

18/04/2011