Metro Mining Ships 700,000 WMT Bauxite in July Despite OFT Outage; Maintains 2026 Guidance
[SMM Aluminum Express News] Metro Mining shipped 700,000 WMT of bauxite from its Bauxite Hills Mine in July 2026, despite a temporary outage of its offshore floating terminal (OFT) Ikamba. The Ikamba was taken offline on 20 July to replace four large hydraulic cylinders on Crane 1, returned to service on 27 July, and resumed full-capacity operations on 30 July. Metro deployed geared vessels during the outage to minimise the impact on shipments. Metro also reported 1 million BCM of waste stripping year-to-date, up 140% year on year, following investment in additional equipment and productivity improvements. The higher stripping rate is intended to provide more consistent ore supply as the company increases shipping volumes. Metro maintained its 2026 shipment guidance of 6.6–7.1 million WMT, implying a substantial increase in shipments will be required during the remainder of the year.