Mining
Austral Resources Australia Ltd (Austral) operates in the Mt Isa region, located in Queensland, Australia. Its asset mix has a diversity rarely seen in the Australian small cap mining space.
The Company is a copper cathode producer and copper miner/explorer. In addition to its production plant and mine assets, Austral holds 2,147km2 of highly prospective exploration tenure, comprised of 38 exploration permits minerals (EPMs) as well as two additional EPM applications waiting approval before end of 2022.
Austral is expected to further expand the size of its exploration project book via a finalised Earn-in Agreement with Glencore’s Mount Isa Mines (MIM). Under this agreement, Austral can spend Aus$2.0M over four years to earn-in up to a 65% interest of a further 116km2 of tenure.
Going forward, Austral has committed to an annual Aus$10M exploration budget targeting both oxide copper and copper sulphide in the heart of this world class copper and base metals province. The Company holds 15 Mining Leases covering 53km2.
Austral is today also a growing copper producer, with its Mt Kelly copper oxide heap leach and solvent extraction electrowinning (SX-EW) plant having a nameplate capacity of 30,000tpa of copper cathode. This facility expects to produce 40,000t of copper cathode over a four-year period from mid-2022. The feed for this plant is sourced from the Company’s wholly owned Anthill oxide copper mine, which currently has an Ore Reserve of 5.06Mt at 0.94% Cu.
Austral also owns a significant copper inventory with a JORC compliant Mineral Resource Estimate of 60Mt@ 0.7% Cu (420,000t of contained copper). With an eye to quickly growing this JORC resource estimate, the Company continues to progress an intensive exploration and development program across its project book designed to extend the life of mine, increase its resource base and then review options to commercialise existing and any newly identified copper resources.
Recent Highlights
Austral recently achieved its target of positive operational cash flow and commercial production at the Anthill Project, which is part of the Company’s Queensland-based greater Lady Annie Project.
A drilling program encompassing the prioritised phase 1 Anthill 2.0 copper oxide exploration targets within the existing ML was in progress at the start of calendar 2023.
Drilling of phase 1 McLeod Hill and Lady Annie copper oxide exploration targets was completed by the end of calendar 2022, with both targets on existing MLs.
Copper Oxide Targets set to be explored in 2023 include:
- The Drifter Trend, where recent surface rock chip samples were assayed at 16.05% Cu
- Highly prospective known targets adjacent to the Anthill open pit mine
- Targets within the Glencore JV.
Copper Sulphide targets set to be explored in 2023 include:
- Lady Colleen, where Austral continues to define a high grade zone
- Enterprise, where Austral has already reported a Maiden Mineral Resource
- A number of other prospects, headed by Flying Horse, Lady Annie, Investigator and Neptune. Here Flying Horse and Lady Annie already have existing Mineral Resource estimates.
Austral is undertaking the groundwork required to explore for additional high-grade oxide and sulphide copper mineralisation over calendar 2023, including lower-tonnage higher-grade zones within its sulphide mineralisation assets.
Austral continues to leverage off the material existing legacy datasets, paving the way to further accelerate the Company’s exploration to discovery pipeline.
Austral has already allocated an Aus$10M budget for exploration over 2023.
JV discussions continue with multiple parties, which have the potential to further accelerate the exploration of key assets in Austral’s project book.
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