URL: https://geoscience.data.qld.gov.au/dataset/cr144788
The South Johnstone Bauxite Project (Exploration Permit 18463) covers historically-recorded bauxite occurrences associated with laterites and red soil profiles formed on the Atherton Basalt Volcanic Province, near Innisfail, Queensland. EPM18463 has an area of 115 square kilometres (following the 2020 relinquishment). The South Johnstone project permit holders are Volcan Queensland Bauxite Pty Ltd and South Johnstone Bauxite Pty Ltd, and both these companies are subsidiaries of Cann Global Limited (formerly called Queensland Bauxite Limited).
Initial regional and local-scale geological investigations confirmed early reports by Znebejanek (1961) of bauxite/laterite within the South Johnstone project area. Analysis of samples recovered with a hand held XRF device (Olympus Innov-X Systems) showed the upper parts of the weathering profiles in at least half of the 60 holes drilled in 2011 were relatively enriched in alumina and depleted in silica indicating that bauxitisation had taken place.
A JORC Code Inferred Resource of 27 million tonnes of gibbsitic bauxite of an average grade of 26% available alumina and 5.1% reactive silica (low temperature leaching) with thickness ranging between 0.5 and 3 metres, was calculated within EPM18463 based on drilling to 2017.
At the Camp Creek Discovery, modelling resulted in a JORC Code Indicated Resource of 1.2 Mt of average grade of 30.2% Av Al2O3 and 3.2% Rx SiO2. This figure includes a 220,000 tonne JORC Measured Resource within Franks Lots 4 & 5 on Plan RP739786 at Camp Creek. A mineral development licence MDL 2004 was granted over this area on 13th October 2017.
On the 24nd May 2022, at the end of permit year 12, the holders of EPM18463 allowed the permit to lapse. The low available alumina grade of 26% and relatively high reactive silica grade of 5.1% compared with better quality bauxites further north on Cape York Peninsula and elsewhere in the world, has resulted in little interest from potential buyers or offtake partners.