• Home
• Corporate
  • Board
  • Corporate Directory
• Projects
  • Balla Balla Magnetite
    • Introduction
    • Bankable Feasibility Study
    • Iron Ore Sales
    • Titanium
  • Yalgoo Iron Ore
  • Indee Southwest Copper-Gold
  • Yalgoo Copper-Gold
• Corporate Governance
  • Board
  • Financial Reporting and Risk Management
  • Disclosure and Communications
  • Remuneration and Performance
  • Ethical Standards
• Investor Centre
  • All Announcements
  • Quarterly Reports
  • Half Yearly Reports
  • Annual Reports
  • Press
  • Research
  • Share Price (ASX)
• Contact
  • Contact Information

Balla Balla Titanium

Ilmenite Grains In Sem Backscatter Image

Ilmenite Recovery Flowsheet

The Company is currently investigating titanium (“Ilmenite”) recovery from the tailings produced from concentrating Balla Balla magnetite. Similar operations in China and Russia are able to recover saleable titanium concentrate from their tailings material through simple high intensity magnetic separation and floatation. The product typically amounts to 10% of the operations tailings output grading 46% ilmenite, in which case Balla Balla could potentially yield up to 400,000 tonnes annually. This would add substantially to the project’s revenue as the material has no associated mining or grinding costs and currently sells for over US$50 per tonne.

Titanium

Aurox has initiated a dedicated titanium recovery study on the Balla Balla “non-magnetic tailings” material using microscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy (“SEM”) techniques. The tailing samples represent remains from the magnetic separation process used to produce iron concentrate from the Balla Balla ore. The analysis shows the non-magnetic tailings contain significant amounts of large “free milling” ilmenite grains, which have the potential to be processed into titanium products.

Significant quantities of ilmenite (FeTiO3) are present in the Balla Balla titanomagnetite orebody. Ilmenite is a high-value feedstock used to produce titanium metals, which are in increasing demand by aerospace and other high-tech industries. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is a common ingredient in white pigments used for paint and paper manufacture.

The long-term forecast for titanium metal and titanium dioxide is very bullish, with Aurox receiving early expressions of interest from several parties wishing to purchase any titanium concentrates produced at Balla Balla.

Photomicrographs of the non-magnetic Balla Balla tailings clearly show large discrete ilmenite grains. These observations were confirmed using SEM techniques at the University of Western Australia. The SEM study (particularly using SEM backscatter imaging) demonstrates that the ilmenite content of all the Balla Balla samples examined was higher than the estimations determined using reflective microscopy.

Aurox has commissioned testwork to evaluate the most efficient process for concentrating the Balla Balla ilmenite. Typically, the weakly magnetic ilmenite in the non-magnetic tailings is subjected to high-intensity magnetic separation followed by flotation, a process commonly employed in operating mines.  Aurox will also deliver sample tailings material to overseas equipment manufacturers who have agreed to carry out ilmenite recovery testwork in order to secure future equipment supply contracts.