- 01AIC to buy Materra for $120m (shares, cash); HP funds cash.
- 02Mt Cuthbert: 18.7Mt @1.3% Cu ~246kt; AIC Cu ~878kt.
- 03Completion by Nov; 60% Inferred; no Reserves.
AIC Mines (ASX: A1M) has agreed to acquire 100% of Materra Metals, owner of the Mt Cuthbert copper project in northwest Queensland, for $120 million as it moves to establish a second copper hub alongside its Eloise-Jericho operations.
The consideration comprises $100m in AIC Mines shares and $20m cash, while existing major shareholder Hawke’s Point will invest $70m at $0.795 per share to fund the cash component and an accelerated exploration, resource drilling, and development program.
Located 150 kilometres northwest of Eloise, Mt Cuthbert has mineral resources totalling 18.7 million tonnes grading 1.3% copper for 246,000t of contained copper across five deposits on granted mining leases.
Adding the project would lift AIC Mines’ contained copper resource by 39% to about 878,000t, with completion targeted for early November subject to shareholder approval and completion of the placement.
About 60% of the Mt Cuthbert resource is classified as Inferred and no Ore Reserves are currently defined, meaning any standalone production outcome remains dependent on further drilling and technical and economic evaluation.
Reshaped Resource Base
The vendors will receive about 125.8 million new AIC Mines shares, giving them a collective 12.4% interest after completion, while no individual vendor is expected to hold more than 5%.
Hawke’s Point will subscribe for about 88.1 million shares and is expected to hold 10.3% after completion, with the transaction proceeding on a cash-free and debt-free basis apart from agreed liabilities and AIC Mines having paid a $500,000 deposit.
“We have reviewed almost all of the advanced-stage copper opportunities […] over the last five years, and Mt Cuthbert is by far the best opportunity we have seen—due to its established resource base, strong exploration upside, and the strategic fit alongside our existing operations,” managing director Aaron Colleran said.
“The Mt Cuthbert acquisition provides AIC Mines with a clear pathway to becoming a multi-asset copper producer in the globally significant Mt Isa–Cloncurry region.”
AIC Mines expects similarities in geology, mining and processing between Mt Cuthbert and Eloise-Jericho to allow it to apply regional permitting, underground mining, and project-development experience gained while advancing Jericho to first copper.
Sulphide Drilling Targets
Mt Cuthbert covers about 2,400km² through 21 mining leases and 32 exploration permits, with 15 priority drill-ready prospects identified beyond the existing resource areas.
The site includes an 8,000tpa solvent extraction and electrowinning (SXEW) plant on care and maintenance, along with a 64-room camp, offices, workshops, and other supporting infrastructure.
AIC Mines plans an initial two-year program of about 60,000m of diamond drilling at the main deposits to test extensions and build the resource base required for a potential standalone sulphide operation, alongside at least 9,000m of regional diamond drilling and targeted geophysics.
Past drilling concentrated on near-surface oxide mineralisation, leaving underlying sulphide systems comparatively poorly defined, while the existing mineral resources remain open along strike and at depth and roughly three-quarters of the resource is sulphide material.
Get the wire before the market opens.
The ASX small-cap stories that matter, filed before 9am AEST. Curated by the Small Caps desk.