Severe frost delays bauxite shipment from Tasmania's new mine

Operations in Bald Hill mine, Australian Bauxite's newest aluminium ore mine near Campbell Town, Tasmania are being hit badly by severe frosts that have been bringing temperatures below average over the last couple of months. Workers are facing difficulty coping with the unexpected ice.

This has led to delay of the first shipment of bauxite from the mine by about six weeks. Ian Levy, Managing Director, Bald Hill said that he was waiting for the arrival of spring that would help the frost to thaw making screening process much easier. He was hopeful that the production rate at the mine would accelerate in summer.

"It'll be a rush to accumulate a good stockpile so that we can be an all-round shipper of high quality material, even in the winter months," he said. There is no real monsoon in Tasmania unlike in the tropics; this will hopefully help them deliver better and in a consistent manner for the rest of the year, he added.

Mr. Levy said he expected the first bauxite shipment from the mine to arrive at the designated alumina refinery in China by September this year.