Metro Mining Ltd (ASX:MMI) continues its strong bauxite output from the Bauxite Hills project in Far North Queensland with September quarter shipments double those of the previous quarter.
There were 822,000 tonnes of shipments in the three months compared to 399,000 tonnes in the June quarter.
Included in the total was a record monthly total of 297,000 tonnes in August, representing an annual rate of about 2.4 wet metric tonnes (wmt) during the planned 8-month operating window.
Metro’s managing director and CEO Simon Finnis said, “I am delighted to see how Bauxite Hills has gone through the ramp-up phase and into steady-state production in such a short period.
“Given the strong demand being seen for Bauxite Hills product, this provides an excellent platform to incrementally add to sales in 2019 and increase operational cashflow.”
Shares are up almost 5% to 21.5 cents and have increased 19% since Monday.
READ: Metro Mining passes 1-million tonne milestone of bauxite shipments to Chinese customers
In mid-September, the company shipped its one-millionth tonne, just five months after beginning operations in April 2018.
By the end of the quarter Metro’s total shipments had reached 1.22 million wmt and it remains on track to meet 2018 production and shipping guidance of 1.980 million to 2.075 million wmt.
Marketing proves successful
Metro’s marketing program has been successful with the output from the project being fully sold for 2018 and already more than 80% sold for 2019.
During the September quarter bauxite was shipped to five different Chinese customers including Metro’s foundation customer, Xinfa.
READ: Metro Mining ramping up its award-winning bauxite mine
The company is seeing strong demand for its bauxite from refineries in inland Chinese provinces where domestic supply has been hindered by recent mine closures and environmental audits.
Bauxite Hills’ product specifications are well suited to the processing requirements of these refineries.
Feedback from refiners highlights that the bauxite refines as anticipated and is similar to other products from the Weipa region, although being a direct shipping ore product results in different material handling characteristics.