The company, which mines at Bald Hill, near Campbell Town, recently finalised its second sale and is working towards a much bigger third sale.

It is also eyeing a large deal in the Middle East.

Mining started in early 2015 and the company wanted to start shipping via Bell Bay by mid-2015.

However, a wet winter slowed things down, and a weak market  this year delayed the company further, with a planned first shipment abandoned.

“ … the metallurgical bauxite market has remained closed to new entrants, largely because of the slowing growth in Chinese industrial production,” company chairman and former Tasmanian premier Paul Lennon said in his review of 2015 and recent developments released on Tuesday.

“The company has adjusted to these tough times by, one, finding new markets for its bauxite and, two, undertaking research  and innovation, both of which are bearing fruit.”

It started its sales with small sales to the fertiliser and cement industries, with a  first shipment of 5557 tonnes to a cement customer in late April.

It said the second shipment  would be a repeat of the first, and was expected to be shipped within nine weeks.

It said the customer was also seeking a bigger shipment of 25-30,000  tonnes once stockpile sites had been completed in coming months.

“The sale price is satisfactorily profitable and commercial in confidence,” the company told the ASX.

It also said it had been told by a major company in the Middle East a bulk sample of its bauxite had been proven suitable “for its strict requirements”.

Australian Bauxite said it was preparing an offer with its marketing partner, RawMin, to jointly ship large tonnages into the Middle East for a full year.