Good year ahead for BRL

Bauxite Resources Limited chairman Barry Carbon expects 2011 to be a strong year after the company signed a deal with Yankuang Corporation to design and build a state-of-the-art alumina refinery in the South West.

Mr Carbon said the year ahead for the company will be underpinned by increasing global bauxite and alumina prices as the pricing cycle continued to improve from the lows reached in mid-2009.

He said highlights shareholders should look out for next year include applying for regulatory approval for the South West refinery, proving up 60 million tonnes of bauxite reserves in WA for the long-term supply of local alumina, and starting the long-term alumina production strategy with Yankuang.

BRL has three tenements granted in the South West for exploration with a further three imminent.

These three tenements are currently having geographical mapping and reconnaissance work done and BRL has applied for a program of works for drilling with the hope of beginning exploration drilling in the new year on the Dinninup tenement.

Granted tenements for exploration in the South Darling Range are surrounding Dinninup, Crossing Pool (Boyup Brook) and Blackwood.

The imminent tenements are also between the Boyup Brook and Bridgetown areas and these granted tenements include 12 properties that are signed up for exploration on their private farmland.

The licences from Department of Mines and Petroleum are granted for exploration only and exploration drilling will be conducted to determine any bauxite resource and its level of resource on these properties and thus determine any opportunities for future mining.

Mr Carbon said in the South West BRL will explore on both private farmland and crown land.

‘‘Where our tenements intersect with protected conservation reserves and streams, we will not conduct exploration or mining,’’ he said.

‘‘BRL has a policy of restricting exploration and mining operations only to those forests that are zoned to be logged by the State and potentially plantation harvest areas, and definitely not karri forests.’’