Global mining giant makes a mountain out of Anthill
Junior copper producer Austral Resources has brokered a deal with mining giant Glencore for 40,000 tonnes of copper cathode from its Anthill mine near Mt Isa.
The deal is equivalent to four years of production from the mine and will also include a $21 million payment to Austral which said there was now a potential to explore other copper development opportunities in the region.
The offtake deal starts in the second half of 2022 and Austral said the $21 million payment would be used to āimmediately expedite exploration and developmentā.
It has boosted its exploration budget five-fold to $10 million.
Austral chief executive Steve Tambanis said exploration and development were being significantly expanded with the intention of āfast-tracking discoveriesā.
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āWe have engaged a first-class team of explorationists to undertake this work. (We) have detailed exploration strategy in place and have funding to enable these programs,ā he said.
There had been negotiations with several companies to secure its copper, a commodity in high demand because of the expected growth in its use as economies electrify.
Tambanis said the deal would provide a solid financial buffer for Anthillās start-up phase over the next five months.
āGlencore underwent a lengthy due diligence process to assess our production capabilities and is pleased with the high quality of Australās copper cathode
Ā
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