PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Metallica Minerals has announced its intention to expand its focus from mineral sands to include bauxite, identifying 15 priority targets over its Cape York tenement package, in Queensland.

An evaluation and drill campaign has been scheduled for September, and Metallica told shareholders that the company’s first priority will be to identify and prepare conceptual development plans for any accessible direct shipping ore (DSO) in the newly identified bauxite areas.

The DSO ore could be exported through a deep-water barge-shipping operation Metallica is already planning for its Urquhart Point heavy mineral sands (HMS) project 3 km south-west of Weipa.

“The region’s Weipa pisolitic bauxite mineralisation is already well known in the high consumption Chinese alumina-aluminium market, so provided our bauxite proves up as being grade and price competitive, the company could expect a ready export market for new Cape York consignments,” MD Andrew Gillies said.

“This window of opportunity for Cape York has been enhanced by the newly imposed long-term ban on bauxite exports by Indonesia – previously the biggest bauxite supplier to China – so we have a geographical economic head-start as well in seeking to fill the anticipated emerging supply shortfall.”

Gillies said the new conceptual bauxite exploration targets over Metallica’s Cape York holdings ranged between 47-million and 138-million tonnes, with the targets of most interest either part of, adjacent to, or in close proximity to Metallica’s existing HMS exploration and development projects.

“These potential dual mine sites can be commercialised at relatively low capital and operating cost and can be commenced at small scale and easily scaled up,” he said.

Subject to project funding, Metallica hopes to have Urquhart Point producing zircon and rutile heavy mineral concentrate for export by mid-2015. The company says the Urquhart Point infrastructure, including its manning, equipment and logistics components, would be ideally suited for handling both mineral sands and small scale bauxite handling so any dual use of Urquhart Point would offer substantial project synergies and cost savings.

The Cape York holdings comprise 11 exploration permits and nine applications, as well as one granted mining lease and one mining lease application over the Urquhart Point HMS deposit.

Metallica also owns the advanced SCONI scandium/nickel/cobalt project secured in granted mining leases and applications north-west of Townsville, as well as limestone quarrying and processing interests near Townsville and Gladstone, in Queensland.