Metro Mining (ASX:MMI) has a clear pathway towards growing steady production from Q4 2024, with a focus on expanding capacity of 7-plus million tonnes per annum into 2025 and beyond.
Speaking to Mining.com.au, CEO Simon Wensley says the recent mobilisation and commissioning of the offshore floating terminal (OFT) Ikamba has helped the company to achieve record Q2 results.
However, the $231.64 million market capitalisation company is not resting on its laurels and is seeking further organic growth heading into next year.
“Overall, the progress has been mostly in line with expectations, such as new wobbler in operations, increasing barge loading daily rate, etcetera,” Wensley tells this news service.
Ikamba began operations on 28 April. Following an initial commissioning process operating at 50% capacity, the Ikamba is now operating at 80% capacity and achieving discharge peak “free-dig” rates of 2,300 tonnes per hour (tph) and average barge rates of 1,700 tph.
The project is mechanically complete, with cost at completion remaining within the approved budget of $36.1 million. Metro remains confident it can further optimise and improve operations and increase volume.
To achieve that ultimate optimisation goal, Wensley notes that Metro will continue monitoring existing operational workflow, and will identify areas to improve the production rate.
“We believe with existing expansion in place and continuing strength of the traded bauxite market, we are confident with our set target, as well as heading into positive cash flow in the coming years,” the CEO explains.
On 26 July, Mining.com.au reported that mining, screening, barge loading, and transhipping demonstrated rates of 7.5 million tonnes per year during July.
To date, Ikamba has ramped up and shown an average barge unloading rate of 1,700 tph – about 85% of target capacity. The wobbler screening circuit has also ramped up quickly with throughputs now at 100% of target rates of 1,500 tph.
Ikamba is currently operating in concert with TSA Skardon to load vessels. Following commissioning of all the value chain, the site and marine teams, together with Metro’s transhipping contractor TSA, are now working to optimise the screening, barge loading, and transhipping components of the value chain to enhance productivity rates and reduce loading times for Ocean Going Vessels (OGVs).
Strict process controls over the barge schedule are designed to target a minimum of five barges per day. Constant communication is maintained between the barge loading facility (BLF) crew loading ashore, the barge scheduler, and the offshore crew to coordinate tug movements to optimise the barge schedule with tides.
The Metro expansion is “perfectly timed as the traded bauxite market continues to grow strongly with Chinese imports up 7.4% year-on-year,” the company says.
Metro’s cost, insurance and freight (CIF) prices are up 19% YoY and 13% over Q4 2023. Free on board (FOB) prices are also up 13% on Q4 2023 and a further 8% under negotiation for Q3 2024.
Total shipping rates for the June quarter were affected by the extended wet season, a six-week delay in wobbler circuit commissioning, and a barge loading facility breakdown in June. Nevertheless, total shipments were a Q2 record of 1.42 million wet metric tonnes (wmt) with a total of 1.5 million wmt year-to-date, some 400,000t behind plan.
Metro took the opportunity to restructure its balance sheet during the past quarter with an oversubscribed $45 million placement and SPP.
Metro Mining’s flagship project, The Bauxite Hills Mine, is located 95km north of Weipa on Western Cape York where the company holds a total tenement package covering approximately 1,900km2.
Write to Adam Orlando at Mining.com.au
Images: Metro Mining
