Metro Mining (ASX:MMI) shipped 604,000 wet metric tonnes of bauxite from the Bauxite Hills Mine in Cape York, North Queensland, during May 2026, representing a 45% increase on the previous month.
The company says the return of the Offshore Floating Terminal Ikamba from statutory dry dock ‘significantly’ impacted shipping throughput.
Ikamba continued operating on a single crane, replacing a luffing cylinder and completing recommissioning activities.
Metro lost one day of loading due to weather, while the Transhipment Services Australia Skardon floating crane barge lost eight days due to an unplanned breakdown.
The company has shipped 1.12 million wet metric tonnes to date. This figure is 5% below the comparable period in 2025, which Metro says reflects the absence of Ikamba and the impacts of Tropical Cyclone Narelle.
Throughput is expected to be weighted towards H2 2026 now that full transhipment capacity has been restored.
The shipping channel returned to its planned operating depth during May, with improvements to bed-levelling techniques being implemented to strengthen the channel’s resilience against future weather events.
The company has achieved a record stripping result for the year to date of 615,409 bank cubic metres. Stripping results are up 165% on the comparable period in 2025.
Metro also mined 580,000 wet metric tonnes in May, with the operation drawing on port stocks as shipping throughput ramps up.
Calendar year shipment guidance for 2026 is 6.6 million to 7.1 million wet metric tonnes.
Metro Mining is a bauxite producer and explorer. The company wholly owns the Bauxite Hills Mine, which operates on the Weipa bauxite plateau, 95km north of Weipa.
Write to Maddison Elliott at Mining.com.au
Images: Metro Mining
