Metro Mining Limited has reported a standout third-quarter operational update for 2024, marking a record-breaking period for the company's bauxite production. The company achieved quarterly shipments of 2.13 million wet metric tonnes (WMT), a substantial 50 per cent increase over Q2 2024 and a 32 per cent rise compared to Q3 2023. This brings Metro's total output for the calendar year to 3.7 million WMT, setting the company on track to reach the lower end of its 6.0 to 6.4 million WMT guidance range, subject to weather conditions.
Key components of Metro's flow sheet, including mining, screening, the barge loading facility, and transhipping, are now operating above budgeted rates, boosting Metro's confidence in achieving a production rate of 7 million WMT per annum by 2025.
The company's production surge comes amid heightened tightness in the global bauxite market, with benchmark prices for both bauxite and alumina trending upwards by the close of the quarter. Metro recorded a 14 per cent year-on-year increase in average delivered prices and a modest 2.5 per cent rise over Q2 2024. These gains were slightly offset by contractual variances and demurrage costs from rapid production scaling, though Q4 is expected to yield even higher quarterly prices.
Q3 2024 marked the first full quarter of expanded operations, with Metro's new wobbler screening circuit and Offshore Floating Terminal (OFT) Ikamba achieving nameplate capacity. Strategic improvements in processes, team coordination, and efficiency resulted in monthly production and shipping records and a cumulative 10 per cent month-on-month increase in quarterly shipments. Metro's economies of scale are beginning to bear fruit, with site operating costs down to $23/WMT—26 per cent lower than Q2 2024. The site margin for EBITDA came in at $13.8/WMT, with some expansion-related costs still affecting the balance. However, Metro anticipates further cost reductions through continuous optimization.
