VBX LIMITED (VBX) - How VBX Plans A Low-Cost Bauxite Operation In Northern WA

Guinea supplies a huge share of the traded bauxite market and that concentration is forcing buyers and investors to rethink supply security. We sit down with Ryan De Franck, Managing Director of VBX Limited, to unpack why the Wuudagu Bauxite Project in Western Australia’s North Kimberley could stand out in the global bauxite landscape through a simple idea: pair high-grade, low-silica bauxite with logistics that are short, efficient, and built around real customer needs. 

We talk through what makes Wuudagu strategically significant, from its proximity to the coast and protected sea conditions for transshipment, to the shipping advantage of being closer to key end-user regions such as China, India, and the Middle East. Ryan also explains the impact of VBX’s 108% lift in Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource to 131.9 million tonnes, and how that larger, higher-confidence base supports a bigger development case as the Definitive Feasibility Study progresses. 

Metallurgy gets a spotlight too, with recent test work indicating a 23% increase in mass recovery versus prior assumptions, and what that can mean for operating costs, profit margins, and payback timing if it carries through at scale. We finish with the execution roadmap: the DFS timeline toward mid-2026, a pathway to first production in 2027, and the near-term milestones that matter most, including traditional owner agreements, approvals, and definitive off-take and funding work with strategic partners. 

If you follow ASX mining, bauxite projects, aluminium supply chains, or energy transition materials, this is a sharp update you’ll want in your queue. Subscribe to ASX Briefs, share this episode with a mate watching the sector, and leave a review telling us which milestone you think will be the biggest value driver.

Transcript

Andrew Musgrave

Welcome again to ASX Briefs, the podcast bringing you quick, insightful conversations with leaders of ASX Listed companies. And today we're joined by Ryan de Franck, the Managing Director of VBX Limited, an emerging bauxite producer developing the highly strategic Wuudagu Bauxite project in Western Australia's North Kimberley region. Ryan, thanks for joining me today and welcome to the ASX Briefs Podcast.

Ryan de Franck

Thanks, Andrew. Appreciate the opportunity.

Andrew Musgrave

Now, Ryan, for those new to the VBX story, could you explain the strategic significance of the Wuudagu project and how your industry leading mine to customer logistics provide a structural cost advantage in the global bauxite market?

Ryan de Franck

Yeah, that's right. Wuudagu is our main project and it's very unique in the global bauxite landscape because we have both a high-grade beneficiated product quality and short, efficient, low-cost logistics. On the logistics side, we're very close to the coast with a short road haulage distance, and we'll operate in an area with protected sea conditions, which is important from a transshipment perspective. Our biggest advantage is probably on the shipping side of things, given our close proximity to potential end users in China, India, Middle East, and even Indonesia over the medium to longer term.

Andrew Musgrave

Okay, and you've recently announced a massive 108% increase in your measured and indicated mineral resource to 131.9 million tonnes. So how does this expanded resource base, along with the undrilled potential, fundamentally change the scale of the project you are now assessing in the upcoming DFS?

Ryan de Franck

Yeah, that's right. In our PFS that was completed at the start of last year, we were constrained to a 6 million tonne a year throughput rate over a 10-year mine life because of our existing indicated resource of 60 million tonnes. Our exploration program last year increased both the size and the confidence in the resource. And that included three new high-grade discoveries that were Wuudagu D, E, and F. And that pushed the measured indicator resource up over 130 million tons. And that's allowed us to increase the throughput rate by up to 50% to 9 million tonnes per annum in the definitive feasibility study, which is underway at the moment, which is a really great outcome.

Andrew Musgrave

Now, recent metallurgical test work showed a 23% increase in mass recovery compared to your 2025 PFS. So, can you talk us through how these improved recoveries translate into enhanced profit margins and faster payback period for shareholders?

Ryan de Franck

Yeah, improved recoveries are important because it will mean that our fixed cost base is spread over a larger production profile, which should reduce our operating costs. And importantly, this has been achieved without compromising on the high-grade beneficiated product quality, which is important from a profit margin perspective.

Andrew Musgrave

Okay, and you recently secured $2 million in loan notes to accelerate the DFS scope and are working with a global investment bank on off-take and funding. So, what is the level of interest you're seeing from strategic partners looking to secure a long-term supply of low silica bauxite?

Ryan de Franck

Yeah, the bauxite market's undergone significant growth over the last 20 years at over 25% compound annual growth rate. And I guess the key dynamic that's at play at the moment is this high reliance on material coming out of Guinea, which is supplying about 80% of bauxite into the traded market. Wuudagu is very unique, and then we've got the Guinea product quality, but we've got short efficient logistics being located in in Northern Australia. So obviously there's a lot of interest from a broad range of end user and marketing groups in securing rights to the product.

Andrew Musgrave

And finally, Ryan, with the DFS due in mid-2026 and a clear pathway towards first production in 2027, what are the most critical milestones your team is focused on over the next 12 months?

Ryan de Franck

Yeah, the DFS is a key milestone for us that will deliver mid-year. I think other key milestones that will be delivered in the next six to twelve months, which will also be key de-risking and re-rating catalysts for the company, will be finalising mining agreement with Wunambal Gaambera, our traditional owner partners, finalising the approvals to build and operate the project, and also finalising definitive product marketing off-take agreements related to how we're going to fund the capital cost for the for the project.

Andrew Musgrave

Okay, Ryan, well it's been great to get an update on the company, so thanks for your time, and we look forward to further updates from VBX in the upcoming months.

Ryan de Franck

Thanks, Andrew. Appreciate the opportunity again.

Andrew Musgrave

By leveraging a world-class resource and a disciplined path to production, VBX is positioning itself as a key player in the global aluminium supply chain, essential for the global energy transition. 
 
 That concludes this episode of ASX Briefs. Don't forget to subscribe, and we look forward to catching you on our next episode.