$2bn bauxite mine near Weipa to start next year

$2bn bauxite mine near Weipa on target to start next year

NICK DALTON •
The Cairns Post •
May 20, 2015 5:20AM

ON TRACK: A new $2 billion bauxite mining project near Weipa is expected to start


Metro Mining Investor Update

A NEW $2 billion bauxite mining project near Weipa is expected to start production next year.

About 70 jobs will be offered at Metro Mining’s flagship Bauxite Hills project, with half to be indigenous workers.

Metro says the mine has a 21-year life of two million tonnes a year with revenue estimates at $55 per tonne.

A pre-feasibility study said the mine would deliver an “excellent” net present value of $197 million and provide a “much-needed boost for the Far North mining industry.

Queensland’s annual net profit is estimated at $37.9 million.

Bauxite Hills is about 95km north of Weipa on Western Cape York.

The area is world-renowned for its deposits of high-quality, export-grade bauxite.

Bauxite Hills has the region’s second largest resource estimated at 61.5 million tonnes after Rio Tinto Alcan’s leases.


The MEC Mining Consultants’ report calculates a 20-plus year life for the mine at a rate of two million tonnes a year of direct shipment ore.

The company says the prefeasibility study supports the company’s strategy to develop Bauxite Hills as soon as possible with approvals expected by the first half of next year with production targeted for the third quarter of next year.

Metro chief executive Simon Finnis said the low capital expenditure to establish the project of $27.4 million, combined with a simple operating strategy delivering low operating costs, meant a long-term project with “excellent margins”.

“We avoid costs associated with the beneficiation of the bauxite,” Mr Finnis said.

“High-quality bauxite available with minimal overburden means shallow, free-digging. Our projected costs have been reduced.

“International demand for bauxite, thanks to Indonesia’s ban on raw material exports, is increasing and our proposed mine is located close to international shipping routes with low freight costs to China.”