Phosphate was supposed to be the outback’s next big economic opportunity, but one mining company says the cost of rail freight has brought its project to the end of the line.
Just three years after its first shipments were celebrated for reducing Australia’s reliance on imports, the Ardmore Mine, about 140 kilometres south of Mount Isa, has entered voluntary administration, with about 150 jobs now on the line.
Mining companies say the cost of hauling their minerals to port is too high. (Supplied: North West Phosphate)
The critical mineral is a key ingredient in fertiliser and some rechargeable batteries, and the Cambrian Georgina Basin, on the Queensland-Northern Territory border, contains some of the largest untapped deposits in the…
