ASX-listed Metro Mining has received provisional payment from its client in China for the first two shipments of bauxite from its Bauxite Hills mine, in Queensland.
The first two shipments totalled about 123 000 t of bauxite.
Metro has a four-year offtake agreement with Chinese aluminium company Xinfa for one-million tonnes a year of bauxite in the first year and two-million tonnes a year for each of the next three years. Pricing under the offtake agreement is confidential, but Metro stated that it was linked to a well-established alumina price index.
“Receiving the first sales revenue is another exciting milestone for Metro and heralds a new era for us,” commented MD and CEO Simon Finnis.
Meanwhile, Metro reported an improvement in mining and loading rates from pit to ship as commissioning issues are being resolved. The company confirmed that it expected to achieve its targeted production rate of two-million tonnes this year.