UPDATE 1-Lead held at Australia port seen cleared by April

(Recasts, adds details)

SYDNEY, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Some 9,000 tonnes of lead marooned in Australia's Esperance port for months due to contamination fears could be cleared for removal as early as March or April, an Australian environmental authority said on Monday.

The lead, mined by Ivernia Inc (IVW.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), has been stored in a shed at the port while the Western Australian state's Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) conducted an investigation sparked by a rash of bird deaths in the area.

Under a proposal that could unlock the lead, the DEC could revoke a ban on shipments in March or April, according a Legislative Assembly Education and Health Standing Committee report reviewing the findings.

Canada-based Ivernia, which in April was forced to shut its Magellan mine in the Australian outback and lay off its workforce because it could not find a port for shipping its lead, said it welcomed the projected release date.

Ivernia has promised to ship the lead in sealed bags, to minimise the risk of contamination in Esperance, a community of around 14,000 people.

The halting of shipments from the port and the closure of the mine have pinched world supplies and underpinned big gains in prices for lead, needed in battery manufacturing.

Three-month London Metal Exchange-traded lead MPB3 sells for nearly $3,055 a tonne. At the start of the year it cost less than $1,700 a tonne.

Ivernia said recently it would take up to four months to clear an additional 19,000 tonnes of lead piled up at Magellan if it wins government approval to resume regular shipments.