Metro Mining to restart operations at Bauxite Hills Mine

Metro Mining Limited will restart operations at Bauxite Hills Mine after the northern Australia wet season. Operations are planned to resume on 19 April.

The company aims to mine and ship 4.0M wet metric tonnes (WMT) of bauxite between April and December. Negotiations for additional sales are progressing well.

“Last year Metro’s 4.0M WMT target was thwarted by the worldwide impact of COVID 19 on market conditions across the aluminium supply chain. Despite record mining and shipping rates, and lower operational costs, the Mine was forced into an early wet season shutdown in September,” Metro said.

The company’s Stage 2 Expansion to an annualised rate of 6.0M WMT remains the core strategy for Bauxite Hills. Financing in Stage 2 is through a $47.5 Million loan facility offered by the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF).

Metro Mining Managing Director and CEO Simon Finnis said: “The Metro team and our contracting partners are keen to get back to work and we are in the fortunate position of being able to welcome back many people who have experience working at Bauxite Hills before.

We have implemented several operational changes that will improve efficiencies, and will continue to focus on mining and shipping rates and lowering operational costs, as we are always looking for improvements in our systems and processes.

From what we’re seeing in the market and from our ongoing negotiations, the demand for Metro bauxite is returning, and confidence is returning to the market more widely.”