TSX-V-listed Hudson Resources has been forced to seek an alternative port solution for its first shipment of anorthosite from Greenland, after the Carver Maritime facility, in Charleston, South Carolina, could not deal with the dust associated with the dry product.
In addition, an impending hurricane has closed the port facilities in Charleston and had sent the vessel carrying the anorthosite from the White Mountain mine out to sea to ride out the storm.
The ship is carrying about 14 400 t of GreenSpar 250 anorthosite product and 56 t of GreenSpar 90, which is a high-quality air-separated product from the low iron process plant dust collection system.
Hudson reported on Friday that it managed to unload the heavy equipment and 56 t of low iron dust product stored in bulk bags before the weather forced the closure of the port.
It is anticipated that the MV Happy Dragon will be allowed to return to port at the end of the week as weather permits.
However, as the Carver facility was not set up to properly deal with the dry product, Hudson had to seek an alternative berth on the south east seaboard in order to accommodate the vessel once it is cleared to return.
Hudson said that it had identified a suitable facility in Savannah, Georgia, and that the MV Happy Dragon would proceed there as soon as weather permitted.
The Savannah port and storage facility would be a temporary port solution.
Meanwhile, Hudson reported that it would start bagging the GreenSpar in the next two weeks for transshipment to a customer in the Americas.
The initial shipment had taken longer than anticipated owing to previously disclosed plant start-up issues. The delays were also compounded by the late arrival of the MV Happy Dragon at the mine, owing to ice conditions at its last port of call and the hurricane currently hitting the southeast US.
“These delays have impacted working capital, and the company is consequently reviewing its business strategy. Given the exceptional interest in our material expressed by many companies in the industrial minerals sector worldwide, the company is considering strategic alternatives to help advance the product lines and customer base,” Hudson said.