Centrex Metals Ltd has paid a 30% deposit of A$1.2 million to CDE Global for fabrication to commence on a turnkey start-up modular wet process plant for its Ardmore Phosphate Rock Project in North West Queensland. The start-up plant for the project will be a 70 t/h circuit and will produce premium grade phosphate rock concentrate to deliver large scale trial shipments
to customers, in order to secure long-term off-take contracts for the project.
The plant is expected to be commissioned in the first half of 2019 followed by customer deliveries.
The 70 t/h modular start-up wet processing plant has been designed as an oversized module able to be readily upgraded to a 140 t/h circuit for the proposed full-scale 800,000 t/y of concentrate
production.
Optima Consulting has completed feasibility level mine designs and associated studies for Ardmore and is now preparing maiden Ore Reserve Statements for the project. GR Engineering Services have completed engineering design for the mine and processing operations, with WSP Global completing engineering design for associated off-site infrastructure. Cost estimations from the mining studies along with those from the engineering designs are now being compiled by GRES and are expected to be completed once some outstanding quotations have been received from vendors.
Integer Research have completed a phosphate rock market review and pricing feasibility study for Ardmore to feed into revenue forecasts for the overall Feasibility Study. Write up of the Feasibility Study report has commenced and the results of the study are now expected to be announced to market in September once this is complete. Centrex will visit a customer’s single superphosphate plant in the local region next week to over see the second of the two 400 t paid trials of run of mine ore from the project. Centrex observed the first trial some weeks ago at another customers plant with positive feedback gained.