Centrex Metals will start advertising its Direct Application Phosphate Rock (DAPR) product from the Ardmore project for sale after a successful shipment for Australian farmers.

Centrex chief executive officer Robert Mencel said the first parcel of high-grade phosphate rock made available to farmers was not only a milestone development for Ardmore, but heralded a critical improvement in the nation’s
fertiliser supply chain resilience and long-term food security.

“For farmers, the application of crushed phosphate rock to crops and pastures represents a very affordable long-term opportunity to increase their soil’s nutrient bank,” Mr Mencel said.

The shipment came from a successful crushing trial on the back of a short mining campaign at Ardmore early this year.

Working with Mount Isa-based contractor JDR Mining and Civil, 320 tonnes of stockpiled ore was loaded into conventional road trains and carted to the Mount Isa quarry.

At the quarry an initial 110 tonnes was crushed using an impact crusher and screened down to minus 26.5mm in dimension.

Centrex said that while the lion’s share of the mine’s future product was intended for the phosphatic fertiliser production market, the initial 25,000 tonne parcel from that mining had been made exclusively available to farmers for use as direct application phosphate rock via an East Coast customer.

It intends to sell a range of DAPR product sizes from Run of Mine (typically -500mm) to a crushed and screened product down to -4mm.

The company recently released an updated definitive feasibility study on the North-West Queensland project, expected to cost $78.47 million to bring into production and have a pay-back period of less than two years.

The planned mining and processing operation would run for about 10 years, with forecast annual production of 800,000 wet tonnes.

Centrex in 2019 completed on-site assembly of a 70-tonne-per-hour start-up processing plant, before putting the brakes on the project.

It says economic conditions and phosphate rock prices have improved substantially in the past year, paving the way for the commencement of mining operations at Ardmore.