Adelaide-based Centrex Ltd. sold 37,857 mt of beneficiated phosphate concentrate from its Ardmore phosphate rock mine in Queensland in the fourth quarter of 2023, up from 17,263 mt in the third quarter.
Centrex also made its single largest shipment of 20,510 mt in the fourth quarter, the company reported in its fourth-quarter 2023 activities report released on Jan. 15. It did not disclose the destination of the shipment, but said it expects to achieve shipment sizes of 30,000 mt by mid-2024.
Centrex said it expects to achieve a run-rate at the Ardmore phosphate rock mine, located in northwest Queensland, of 240,000 mt/y this month, and remains on track to produce a total of 440,000 mt of beneficiated product in calendar year 2024. Centrex said it is working to achieve a production run-rate of 625,000 mt/y by December 2024.
Of the 440,000 mt production target for 2024, the company said around 290,000 mt is already under offtake allocation, including 15,000 mt in the first year with New Zealand-based fertilizer cooperative Ravensdown Ltd. (GM July 7, 2023), “with strong visibility on additional sales opportunities for the remaining balance.”
Mining started at Ardmore in August 2021. The mine is 100% owned by Centrex’s wholly owned subsidiary, Agriflex Pty Ltd. Phosphate reserves at Ardmore provide a 10-year mining life. Centrex’s other projects include the Oxley Potash Project, located in Western Australia around 125 kilometers southeast of the port of Geraldton.