Australia’s Metro Mining Ltd. released production results for the year’s second quarter yesterday, noting that the just-ended term’s production was well above the firm’s expectations going into April.
During the second quarter, production grew by leaps and bounds as time went on. In April Metro mined 415 thousand wet metric tons (WMT) of bauxite ore, averaging 14,297 WMT per diem. The firm shipped 245 thousand WMT in the month, averaging 14,388 WMT each day.
May saw a bump in mining, but an explosion in shipping. Mining operations brought 499 thousand WMT to the surface in the month, averaging 16,092 WMT each day. Meanwhile, shipping of bauxite ore nearly doubled, totaling 470 thousand WMT, or 15,150 WMT per diem.
The quarter’s final month saw less significant increases, but increases all the same. In the month of June, Metro mined 505 thousand WMT of bauxite ore, averaging 16,854 WMT each day. Meanwhile, shipping increased as well, ending the month with a total of 536 thousand WMT, or 17,882 WMT each day.
All in, Metro expected to mine between 900 and 1,100 thousand WMT in the second quarter, with shipping projected to total a similar amount. By quarter’s end the firm mined 1,419 thousand WMT and shipped a total of 1,251 thousand WMT.
Metro’s CEO Simon Finnis lavished high praise on the firm’s labor force in a related press release.
“We have exceeded expectations throughout the entire June quarter, demonstrating that this level of production is sustainable. I must again congratulate all our operational teams, contract partners and all staff who have performed unbelievably well under the difficult circumstances we’re all experiencing as a result of COVID-19.”
Metro Mining is based in Brisbane, and began life when it was spun off from Cape Alumina Ltd. upon its takeover by MetroCoal Ltd in 2014. The firm has exploration rights in over 500 square miles of western Cape York, which is second to only Rio Tinto Alcan.