BCI Minerals’ offtake deal with PT Chandra Asri Pacific moves it closer to unlocking more cash for Mardie

BCI Minerals has secured an offtake deal with an Indonesian chemicals giant that moves it closer to unlocking the door to a pool of cash for its Mardie salt project near Karratha.

The company on Thursday said it had entered into a binding offtake agreement with a subsidiary of PT Chandra Asri Pacific to supply salt from the project near Karratha over a three-year term, with the option to extend for a further three years.

BCI will supply 300,000 tonnes in the first year from Mardie — Australia’s first salt project in more than 20 years — rising to 600,000t in the second and third years.

The commodity will be used in a world-scale chlor-alkali plant currently being developed in Indonesia.

The company said the deal would contribute towards satisfying the offtake requirements needed as a condition precedent to draw down on debt facilities.

First salt is due by the second half of 2026.

“BCI is delighted to have entered into an offtake agreement with Chandra Asri, one of Indonesia’s leading chemical and infrastructure companies,” BCI managing director David Boshoff said.

BCI has been banking on strong demand for its product from the burgeoning Asia market, where it has already lined up an offtake deal with Japan’s Itochu Corporation. Indonesia’s market alone has annual consumption of about 4.4 million tonnes a year of high-grade salt.

Once operational, Mardie is tipped to produce 5.35mt of industrial-grade salt from seawater a year — a rate that will make BCI a top-three global producer. Full production is expected about three years after first salt is harvested this year.

The salt will be used for industrial chemicals which are then used to create products such as aluminium, glass, solar panels, ceramics, paints and plastics.

BCI last month secured $315 million in equity with the backing of its cornerstone investors to bankroll development of Mardie via a fully-underwritten $255m non-renounceable entitlement offer and $60m placement.

The raising was supported by BCI’s major shareholder Wroxby — the investment company of Seven West Media chairman Kerry Stokes — and BCI’s second-largest shareholder, and the country’s biggest superannuation fund, AustralianSuper.

The capital injection came just weeks after BCI secured nearly $1 billion in debt from the Federal Government’s Northern Australian Infrastructure Facility and other lenders.

BCI is progressing engineering towards a final decision on a sulphate of potash circuit in 2025 and plans to push ahead provided it can secure the funding.

The fertiliser ingredient would be a by-product of the operation and would make it one of the only companies producing potash in Australia.

Seven West Media is the publisher of The West Australian newspaper, thewest.com.au website and The Nightly.