PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Bauxite developer Metro Mining has signed a nonbinding letter of intent (LoI) with Chinese chemicals group Shandong Aluminium Company (Lubei) for the supply of up to one-million tonnes a year of bauxite, over a three-year period, from the Bauxite Hills mine, in Queensland.
The supply agreement is expected to start with the commencement of mining operations in April next year.
Metro MD Simon Finnis said on Tuesday that the LoI was another important milestone for the company.
“While it is a no-biding agreement, this LoI shows the strong appetite for our bauxite in the Chinese refining market. We are committed to proceed to a binding agreement as quickly as possible, and are extremely pleased to have attracted another strong counterparty in Lubei.”
The LoI with Lubei is in addition to the binding seven-million tonne, four-year offtake agreement signed with Xinfa in 2016, and once completed, will put Metro in a strong sales position for the ramp-up phase of the Bauxite Hills mine, Finnis said.
Metro is aiming to start construction at Bauxite Hills in July this year, with production scheduled to start in April next year. The project is expected to start production at an initial rate of two-million tonnes a year, ramping up to six-million tonnes a year, with a mine life of 17 years.