Austral Resources Continues with Restart of Rocklands Processing Plant

Austral Resources (ASX: AR1) advanced the restart of its Rocklands processing plant, opened new mining fronts at the Lady Annie lease, and expanded drilling after a high-grade copper-gold discovery at the Snow Queen prospect during the June quarter.

Initial drilling at Snow Queen, within the Cameron River project, returned 10m at 7.52% copper, 9.28 grams per tonne silver, and 0.25g/t gold from 35m, prompting broader follow-up across the mineral system and the Santa Maria Trend.

Copper cathode production totalled 1,796t, 10.7% below the quarterly target because of constrained sulphuric acid supply, while sales of 1,800t generated A$33.06 million in revenue with A$2.03m receivable at quarter-end.

Austral ended June with A$71.66m cash after receiving A$19.67m in net proceeds from the Lady Loretta acquisition, although increased mining costs from new projects contributed to an A$6.88m operating mine cash outflow.

Rocklands Upgrade Ongoing

Austral secured an as-new semi-autogenous grinding (SAG) mill rated at 4.75 megawatts for the Rocklands plant upgrade, with delivery planned for late July and the site remaining in care and maintenance until the second half of 2027.

The front-end engineering and design (FEED) study advanced through an agreed conceptual layout, a mechanical equipment list, and preliminary design.

Demolition of the legacy cone crusher circuit also commenced, to make way for the 4.75MW SAG mill.

A pre-feasibility study into a potential grid power connection continued with an application submitted to Ergon and site engineering work completed to support detailed design.

The redesigned circuit is intended to simplify comminution by replacing several crushing stages, with further expansion opportunities under assessment beyond the initial FEED phase.

Mining Base Shifting East

Austral completed the haulage of 260,000t of blended Anthill ore to the Mt Kelly run-of-mine (ROM) pad at an average grade of 0.71% copper, fully depleting the Anthill ROM stockpile by mid-June.

Mining commenced and advanced at Lady Annie and Mt Clarke, where overburden removal and waste stripping established dual fronts for oxide and sulphide ore despite temporarily reducing quarterly ore mined to 4,271t.

The Mt Kelly ROM stockpile stood at 74,000t containing about 1,208t of copper at quarter-end.

Approximately 5,846t of copper is expected to be leached from existing heaps over the next 12 months, with September-quarter production forecast at 1,850t to 2,050t.

After quarter-end, Austral terminated the Anthill Project Agreement with Glencore and Secover, extinguishing its obligations and increasing its operational flexibility and direct exposure to Anthill copper production.

Expanding Exploration Pipeline

Austral completed 6,125m of reverse circulation (RC) drilling across regional targets and resource growth opportunities, then mobilised a second RC rig on 29 June to run exploration and resource extension programs simultaneously.

At the Canyon prospect in the Mount Kelly project—about 4km from the Mt Kelly processing facility—first-pass drilling identified a previously unrecognised copper oxide system with an intersection of 24m at 1.03% copper from 74m, including a 4m interval grading 3.33% copper.

Drilling continued beyond quarter-end at regional and near-mine prospects, with further assays and follow-up work expected through the September quarter.

The consolidated mineral resource estimate (MRE) remained unchanged at 64.0 million tonnes grading 0.73% copper, comprising the Mt Kelly and Rocklands resources.

An updated MRE is planned before the end of 2026.