Brisbane-based Metro Mining says it remains on schedule to start mining operations at Bauxite Hills in April.

Heavy equipment was recently loaded at Port of Townsville to be barged to the Cape York mine site, including a 988 Cat loader and a 632 Cat scraper.

The barge, which will spend four days in transit, is also carrying ore handling equipment including a 35-tonne screening plant, 22-tonne hopper and 20-tonne stacker.

The bauxite operation is being developed at a cost of $35.8 million and is expected to employ up to 200 people, with a 30 per cent Indigenous workforce target.

The operation includes an airstrip, modernised camp, roads and port.

Major new infrastructure includes barge loading facility and conveyor, wharf, cyclone moorings, navigational aids and tidal gauges.

Core construction at the mine site, 95km north of Weipa, was completed in December.

Metro says delivery and installation of machinery and equipment has resumed, with workers returning to site for final installation.

The Bauxite Hills site has an estimated ore reserve of 92.2 million tonnes and a total resource of 144.8 million tonnes with an estimated a 17-year mine life.

Mining will commence at an initial rate of 2Mtpa, ramping up to a steady-state 6Mtpa over the first four years.

Government approvals are in place to mine up to 10Mtpa.