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Metro Mining
Investor Insight
Metro Mining is uniquely positioned as one of the few pure-play upstream bauxite companies globally listed on any stock exchange. As a direct exposure to the growing aluminum sector, Metro offers investors a unique opportunity to capitalize on the rising global demand driven by traditional industrial applications and emerging sectors such as electrification, battery technologies, and lightweight transportation solutions.
Overview
Metro Mining (ASX:MMI) is a low-cost, high-grade Australian bauxite producer, uniquely positioned as a pure upstream investment in the aluminum supply chain. Metro's flagship asset, the Bauxite Hills Mine in Skardon River, is strategically located 95 km north of Weipa, Queensland, and encompasses a total tenement package of approximately 1,900 square kilometers. As of 31 December 2023, the project boasts an impressive total bauxite resource of 118.7 million tons (Mt) including 83.2 Mt of reserves, featuring high-quality direct shipping ore (DSO) that requires no upgrading.
Following a significant capacity expansion completed in 2024, production at Bauxite Hills Mine is ramping up to achieve sustained throughput exceeding 7 Mt per annum, reinforcing the company’s position as one of the lowest-cost bauxite producers globally. With a further planned capacity increase set for 2025, Metro Mining is well-positioned to exploit continued price strength and robust demand from key Asian markets, particularly China.
Bauxite Hills Mine
The aluminum sector has seen annual growth rates rise from approximately 2 to 3 percent to around 3 to 4 percent due to expanding use in electric vehicles, renewable energy infrastructure, battery manufacturing, and the "lightweighting" of transportation. Recent geopolitical developments, such as reduced bauxite exports from Indonesia, have created supply constraints, driving up bauxite prices significantly. Australian bauxite spot prices reached approximately US$90/DMT in early 2025, up 89 percent from early 2023, which further enhances Metro's revenue potential.
Metro Mining significantly improved its financial position in 2024 by fully repaying junior debt, restructuring senior debt on more favorable terms, and successfully negotiating long-term freight contracts that substantially reduced shipping costs.
Ending 2024 with approximately AU$42 million in cash and trade receivables, the company is positioned for robust financial flexibility and strength. With a simplified and deleveraged balance sheet, Metro is well-equipped to execute its growth strategy and enhance shareholder value.
Metro Mining is led by a seasoned management team with deep expertise in bulk commodities, operational optimization, and corporate strategy, emphasizing sustainable growth and shareholder value creation.
Company Highlights
- Metro Mining stands out as one of the world's only publicly listed, pure-play producers of high-quality direct shipping bauxite ore, crucial for aluminum production.
- Metro Mining’s flagship asset, the Bauxite Hills mine, benefits from proximity to Asian markets, short haul distances, and a highly scalable, low-cost marine transportation system, ensuring industry-leading operating margins.
- Metro’s production capacity nearly doubled from approximately 3.5 Mt in 2020 to just under 6 Mt in 2024, a 24 percent increase year-over-year. Metro plans further capacity expansion to between 6.5 and 7 Mt by the end of 2025.
- Targeting a delivered bauxite cost below US$30 per dry ton CIF China, leveraging low strip ratios, minimal overburden (0.5m), no blasting requirement, and highly efficient marine logistics, positioning the company firmly within the lowest quartile of global producers.
- The company ended 2024 with a strong financial position by repaying AU$39 million in junior debt, restructuring senior debt to more favorable terms, and securing long-term freight contracts, reducing shipping costs by approximately US$3/WMT. Metro ended 2024 with around AU$42 million in cash and trade receivables, enhancing financial flexibility for future growth.
- Metro Mining maintains robust environmental and social governance, evidenced by receiving the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies’ 2024 Environment Award.
Key Project
Bauxite Hills Mine (Queensland, Australia)
Metro’s flagship asset, the Bauxite Hills Mine, is a low-cost, high-quality DSO operation with total resources of 118.7 Mt, including proven and probable resources of 83.2 Mt. The mine benefits from minimal overburden of just 0.5 meters, short average haul distances of 9 km, and no requirement for blasting, contributing to exceptionally low production costs. Production capacity is set to expand from current levels to approximately 7 million wet metric tonnes (WMT) annually by 2025.
The mine has achieved sustained daily production rates of approximately 30,000 WMT, supported by efficient marine logistics utilizing Capesize vessels and specialized tug and barge systems. Robust off-take agreements are in place with major industry players, including Chalco, EGA, Xinfa Aluminium and Lubei Chemical.
Kaolin Deposit (part of Bauxite Hills)
Metro’s Bauxite Hills property also contains a significant kaolin deposit beneath its bauxite resources. The company is advancing a definitive feasibility study for kaolin extraction, evaluating potential market entry strategies, mine planning and product market testing.
This project represents a potential new revenue stream, with applications spanning ceramics, paper manufacturing, paint and other industrial uses.
Management Team
Simon Wensley – CEO and Managing Director
Simon Wensley is a proven industry leader with extensive experience in mining operations and strategic growth. He spent 20 years at Rio Tinto in various operational, project and leadership roles across commodities, including iron ore, industrial minerals, bauxite, alumina, coal and uranium.
Douglas Ritchie – Non-Executive Chair
Douglas Ritchie brings more than 40 years' experience in resources, previously holding senior leadership roles at Rio Tinto, including CEO of Rio Tinto Coal Australia, chief executive of the Energy Product Group, and group executive of strategy.
Nathan Quinlin – CFO
Nathan Quinlin is experienced in financial strategy and cost optimization, previously serving as finance and commercial manager at Glencore’s CSA mine, managing finance, risk management and life-of-mine planning.
Gary Battensby – General Manager and Site Senior Executive
Gary Battensby has extensive experience in managing large-scale metalliferous mining operations, budget control and regulatory compliance. He previously oversaw teams of up to 350 staff and operations with substantial CAPEX and operational responsibilities.
Pure-play low-cost producer of high-grade Australian bauxite
Extensions and New Zones of High Grade Tin at Bygoo North
HIGHLIGHTS
- Scale of Bygoo Tin Project continues to grow with the discovery of new zones of tin mineralisation during the Company’s second RC drilling campaign
- Very broad zone of tin mineralisation at the Stewart’s Lode extended along strike with:
- 118m @ 0.32% Sn from 44m in BRC015 (unconstrained internal dilution); including
- 29m @ 0.53% Sn from 44m, including 8m @ 1.17% Sn from 45m
- 12m @ 0.45% Sn from 116m; and
- 28m @ 0.52% Sn from 146m
- Caspin’s maiden drilling at the Smith’s Lode returns further high-grade tin with:
- 16m @ 0.68% Sn from 49m (BRC013); including
- 5m @ 1.73% Sn & 1.45% Cu from 53m;
- Drilling identifies a further new zone of mineralisation named ‘Radius’, between Dumbrell’s and Smith’s, with:
- 16m @ 0.48% Sn from 124m (BRC016); including
- 2m @ 2.05% Sn & 0.37% Cu from 128m
- Wide zones and high-grade tin mineralisation now drilled over +1,000m of granite contact zone with large gaps in drilling and open along strike.
- High resolution aerial magnetic survey covering ~800km2 to commence shortly
Caspin’s Managing Director, Mr Greg Miles, commented “These results are an exciting epilogue to our maiden drilling program at the Bygoo Project. We are delighted with intersecting 16m @ 0.68% Sn in our first drill hole at Smith’s, including a high-grade zone of 5m @ 1.73% Sn, coupled with 1.45% Cu, the highest-grade copper result by Caspin to date. Another 100m-plus intersection of tin mineralisation at Stewart’s also confirms continuity of ‘bulk’ mineralisation, at very shallow depths. And finally, a new zone of tin mineralisation at ‘Radius’ result demonstrates verifies Caspin’s geological model and growing understanding of key controls to tin mineralisation.
“Most importantly, we now recognise the tin mineralisation potential over greater than 1,000m of shallow granite contact strike at Bygoo North. Drilling is quickly demonstrating that Bygoo North has excellent potential to grow into a tin project with substantial scale. Drilling will continue to target new zones of tin mineralisation and extensions of known areas of shallow tin mineralisation along strike.”
Since acquiring the project, the Company has invested considerable time to understand the geology and controls on mineralisation at Bygoo North. Using the previous exploration data as a base and steadily importing other legacy data such as drilling from the 1970s, the Company is developing a new geological model for the prospect. The Ardlethan Granite contact can now be traced over 1,000m at the prospect, with greisen-style mineralisation developed variably along its entirety (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Location plan of mineralisation and relationship to granite contact at Bygoo North, with significant intercepts. The prospective granite horizon represents the potential for greisen mineralisation on the granite contact to approximately 100m below surface.
These latest results provide further evidence that mineralisation is constrained only by drilling. There are obvious additional drill targets for further exploration. A planned high-resolution aerial magnetic survey, commencing in the following weeks, will further assist refinement of the geological model and hence the targeting process, particularly the several kilometres of untested granite contact to the north and south.
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Caspin Resources, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
Nine Mile Metals Maintains Nine Mile Brook Project Option with Third Anniversary Payment
This successfully allows Nine Mile Metals to keep the Option Agreement in Good Standing and pursue its priority exploration of the Flagship Nine Mile Brook VMS Project and its goal to discover additional High Grade VMS Len's.
The Nine Mile Brook Project consists of 50.02 square kms over 229 mining claims, 10kms west of the World-Famous Brunswick #12 Mine. Below is a summary of the 2022 Drill Program Certified Assay Results, previously announced, displaying the exceptional grades of the Nine Mile Brook Lens. (see Table 1 below)
Table 1: Nine Mile Brook VMS Lens Drill Program Certified Assay Results
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Drill Certified Assays:
(Sample #683512) 18.30 % Cu, 0.40 % Pb, 0.17 % Zn, 119 g/t Ag, 0.84 g/t Au)
(Sample #683542) 15.42% Cu, 2.45% Pb, 2.03% Zn, 173 g/t Ag, 1.05 g/t Au)
(Sample #683534) 16.85% Cu, 0.98% Pb, 0.57% Zn, 125 g/t Ag, 1.13 g/t Au)
"The team is looking forward to returning to Nine Mile Brook in Fall of 2025. With abundant geophysical targets already defined, drill hole selection involves the integration of our extensive datasets including the UAV magnetics, I.P. and Borehole electromagnetics (BHEM) and previous drill hole data, into a 3D model to best leverage the information. The Bathurst Mining Camp is structurally complex and having less than 1% outcrop, the team is committed to following the science and in particular, the advanced geophysics to guide us to success," stated Gary Lohman, VPX & Director.
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About Nine Mile Metals Ltd.:
Nine Mile Metals Ltd. is a Canadian public mineral exploration company focused on Critical Minerals Exploration (CME) VMS (Cu, Pb, Zn, Ag and Au) exploration in the world-famous Bathurst Mining Camp, New Brunswick, Canada. The Company's primary business objective is to explore its four VMS Projects: Nine Mile Brook VMS; California Lake VMS; Canoe Landing Lake (East-West) VMS and the Wedge VMS Projects. The Company is focused on Critical Minerals Exploration (CME), positioning for the boom in EV and green technologies requiring Copper, Silver, Lead and Zinc with a hedge with Gold.
ON BEHALF OF NINE MILE METALS LTD.
"Patrick J. Cruickshank, MBA"
Chief Executive Officer and Director
info@ninemilemetals.com
"Jonathan Holmes"
Director
jonathan@ninemilemetals.com
The disclosure of technical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with Canadian regulatory requirements as set out in National Instrument 43-101 — Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") and reviewed and approved by Gary Lohman, B.Sc., P. Geo., VP Exploration and Director who acts as the Company's Qualified Person and is not independent of the Company.
Forward-Looking Information:
This press release may include forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, concerning the business of Nine Mile. Forward-looking information is based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by the management of Nine Mile. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of words such as "will," "may," "would," "expect," "intend," "plan," "seek, "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential," "continue," "likely," "could" and variations of these terms and similar expressions, or the negative of these terms or similar expressions. Although Nine Mile believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking information is based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking information because Nine Mile can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct.
The Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or the accuracy of the contents of this release.
Lake Hope HPA Pre-Feasibility Study and Maiden Ore Reserve
- Very strong economic metrics and low-cost production: NPV10 A$1.165 billion (with no by-product revenue)
- Capex A$259 million
Opex US$5,860 per tonne excluding by-product credit - Potential Opex of <US$4,500 with by-product credit
- Maiden Probable and Proved Ore Reserve of: 1.7 Mt at 26% Al2O3 for 450,000 tonnes of contained Al2O3.
- Election to proceed to an 80% interest in Playa One Pty Ltd providing Impact with 80% ownership in the Lake Hope resource and intellectual property.
- Definitive Feasibility Study to commence with construction of pilot plant and investigation into the integration of Lake Hope with the HiPurA process.
The PFS highlights the project's exceptionally strong economics and outlines a pathway for Lake Hope to become a global supplier of low-cost, low-carbon HPA, benefiting both the local Ngadju Aboriginal Native title holders and the broader community. The robust economics stem from the unique characteristics of the Lake Hope deposit, which facilitate cost-effective mining and processing.
The PFS confirms that, to the best of Impact's knowledge based on published data, the Lake Hope project could be among the lowest-cost producers of HPA globally, potentially by a significant margin of at least 30%.
Given these strong fundamentals, Impact will issue 120 million shares, escrowed for 12 months, to exercise its option to acquire an 80% interest in Playa One Pty Ltd, which owns the Lake Hope assets and intellectual property, including two patents for metallurgical processes (ASX Release March 21st 2023).
Work will now commence on a Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS), which will include the construction of a pilot plant to produce HPA samples at scale for discussions on offtake agreements. The pilot plant project, currently underway, will be part-funded by the recent federal government grant awarded to Impact Minerals in collaboration with CPC Engineering and Edith Cowan University (ASX Release October 22nd 2024).
In addition, as part of these studies, Impact will focus on the potential integration of the Lake Hope ore and its associated metallurgical processes with the assets and intellectual property related to the HiPurA process, which were recently acquired through Impact’s 50% share in Alluminous Pty Ltd (ASX Release April 23rd 2025).
As the acquisition occurred near the end of the PFS, the study only pertains to Lake Hope as a stand-alone project and does not consider integration with HiPurA. Impact believes the HiPurA acquisition will accelerate the Company’s entry into the HPA market by several years, potentially enhancing the economics of the combined projects.
Lake Hope PFS Summary
Impact Minerals’ Managing Director, Dr Mike Jones, said, “The Lake Hope PFS clearly demonstrates that Impact Minerals is now on the cusp of delivering a significant, low-cost and highly scalable HPA project. In just over two short years since acquiring the rights to the project, we have proven that Lake Hope’s unique natural feedstock, combined with a straight-forward flowsheet, offers one of the most capital-efficient and environmentally responsible pathways to high-purity alumina production globally. The Project’s strong margins, minimal carbon footprint, and ability to deliver 4N product without critical reagents or complex processing provides us with a clear competitive advantage as the HPA market enters a phase of rapid growth.”
“Importantly, the PFS positions Lake Hope to potentially be the upstream foundation of our vertically integrated HPA business. Through our recent acquisition of a 50% interest in Alluminous Pty Ltd and the HiPurA® downstream processing technology we are now accelerating plans to seamlessly integrate Lake Hope feedstock with HiPurA’s potentially modular HPA production capacity. This unique model offers Impact the flexibility to scale production in line with market demand and customer qualification, while minimising capital intensity and de-risking the path to early revenues.”
“With the PFS now complete, our next steps are clear: we will advance the detailed engineering required to bring Lake Hope into production, which will revolve around our exciting federal government co-funded membrane research project now underway in conjunction with Edith Cowan University and CPC Engineering. We believe very significant improvements to our flow sheet will emerge from that work. We will also progress approvals and initiate off-take discussions. At the same time, we will help fund and rapidly develop the HiPurA® modular production pathway to establish near-term capacity and position Impact as a differentiated, vertically integrated supplier of high-purity alumina to the global market. The opportunities in front of us are significant and today marks a major milestone in what is shaping up to be an exciting future for Impact Minerals and our shareholders.”
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Impact Minerals, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
Metro Mining Investor Kit
- Corporate info
- Insights
- Growth strategies
- Upcoming projects