Providing an update on Bauxite Hills mine, Australian miner Metro Mining states that ship loading activity has commenced at Skardon river port on April 14. The company reported to have produced and shipped 3.5mn mt of wet bauxite from Bauxite Hills Mineslocated 95km north of Weipa in 2019.
The shipment will leave for Xinfa, China. Metro Mining has signed a deal with Xinfa to sell 2mn mt of dry bauxite as per offtake arrangements in year 2020, the company announced.
The miner announced that its experienced staff has resumed work and some have even relocated to Cairns. The company reported no negative impact on its production due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Day shift activities have resumed as on April 2 at miner’s sites. Around 142,000mt of bauxite has been mined of which 106,000mt was screened till April 14. The barrages at river Skardon has been loaded with 28,000mt of wet bauxite before the ship ‘Viali’ reached the port, the release said.
The company’s land-based activities commenced in early April with 142,000mt of wet bauxite mined and hauled to the port compared to 47,000mt last year. Despite inherent moisture in bauxite post wet season, the team could achieve screening rate of 850mt/hr, up from 550mt/hr in the last year.
Davis Index reported on March 24 that Metro Mining recommenced its mining activities after Xinjian in China agreed to simplify its customs to help exports. Metro Mining is expected to produce and dispatch 1mn mt of bauxite by the end of June. According to earlier reports, Xinijiang, an autonomous territory in northwest China simplified its customs clearance to reduce clearance time to mere 30 minutes. According to media reports, this step will facilitate exporters to cut down on their storage cost at Urumqi port. Metro announced stage II expansion at Bauxite Mine to expand the production to 6mn mt of wet bauxite in Oct 2019.