Lucrative Bauxite mining licenses granted in Australia's far north

SYDNEY, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- Two Australian mining outfits on Friday are granted licenses that will allow them to develop bauxite mining projects in the far north of Queensland State.

Oresome Bauxite and Ozore Resources will begin operations at the Urquhart Bauxite Project later this year, where there is believed to be in excess of 3 billion tones of the valuable aluminium ore to be unlocked.

"Queensland is a bauxite powerhouse and Australia is the world's largest producer of bauxite, representing 30 percent of global production," Queensland Minister for Natural Resources, Mines and Energy Anthony Lynham said.

"The mine is located near Weipa in the western Cape York Peninsula which is known for its proven large deposits of high-quality export grade bauxite."

This new lease, which is valid until 2033, will build on the existing Bauxite operations already in the far north of Australia which include Rio Tinto's Alcan Weipa mines and Amrun and Metro Mining's new development projects that are currently in the process of being constructed.

For such a remote part of the country, the expansion of the industry could be a major windfall for the local community.

"The Urquhart Bauxite Project adds to the project pipeline and follows the recent granting of the mineral development license to Glencore for 283-million tonne Aurukun Bauxite Project," Lynham said. Enditem