Centrex’s Ardmore Rock phosphate mine in northwest Queensland has successfully completed a shipment of 26,502 tonnes (t) of beneficiated phosphate concentrate, a record for the operation.
The shipment was loaded onto the vessel between August 26 and 31, with the vessel successfully departing the Townsville Port on September 1. The delivery was made to an existing customer of Ardmore.
“I am very pleased to see our ongoing efforts translate into this record shipment and I look forward to many more in the coming months and years ahead,” Centrex managing director and chief executive officer Robert Mencel said.
“Increasing the size of our shipments from Townsville Port is crucial for improving our international competitiveness and opening new international markets.”
The record shipment follows the successful build-up of Centrex’s stockpiles at Ardmore. The amount is expected to support larger and more frequent shipments throughout the rest of 2024, and in the future.
The shipments from Ardmore are anticipated to underpin Centrex’s reduced operating expenditure target for Ardmore, as part of the ongoing Stage 1.5 expansion.
Once complete, the Stage 1.5 expansion is estimated to bring a beneficiated phosphate concentrate production run-rate of 625,000 tonnes per annum.
Centrex also successfully shipped 15,515t of beneficiated phosphate concentrate from Townsville Port on September 5.
The company’s next shipment is expected to be around 25,000t and is scheduled for loading later this month. Centrex hopes the shipment brings its sales for the third quarter of 2024 to approximately 75,000t, with the sales originally forecast to be between 70,000–80,000t.
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