Name of the Project
Ardmore phosphate rock project.

Location
North-west Queensland, Australia.

Project Owner/s
Centrex Metals.

Project Description
Ardmore is one of the few remaining undeveloped high-grade phosphate rock deposits in the world.

An updated definitive feasibility study (DFS) has confirmed the profitability and robustness of the project. The original DFS was completed in October 2018 and in February 2019 the company released the results of an optimised DFS, which has been used as the baseline for the August 2021 update. The project has a mine life of ten years, with production estimated at 800 000 wet tonnes a year.

Underlying mine designs and resulting ore reserves remained unchanged from the 10.1-million tonnes at 30.2% phosphorous pentoxide reported in the DFS.

Plant design, site layout, construction material quantities and erection/installation hour-estimate remain unchanged.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a net present value, at a 7% discount rate, of A$ 207-million and a pretax internal rate of return of 52%, with a payback of less than two years.

Capital Expenditure
Preproduction capital is estimated at A$78.47-million. This compares with the capital investment of A$69-million in the 2019 optimised DFS to support the same parameters.

Planned Start/End Date
Not stated.

Latest Developments
The updated DFS has provided Centrex with confidence to start project financing discussions and progress product sales.

Outside of the DFS baseline, Centrex will undertake additional optimisation studies to further improve the project’s value. This includes investigating value-adding opportunities to the direct application phosphate rock product, using reverse flotation to increase reserves, optimising the commercial plant’s location, adopting bulk road haulage, rail and storage solutions and by-product value-adding opportunities.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
GR Engineering Services (capital cost update).

Contact Details for Project Information
Centrex Metals, tel +61 8 8213 3100.