Austral revives Rocklands copper mine

Austral Resources Australia (ASX: AR1) has entered a binding agreement to acquire Copper Resources Australia’s Rocklands copper mine near Cloncurry, Queensland for $18m.

The Rocklands copper mine — which has been on care & maintenance since late 2024 — is a fully permitted, near-term production asset.

The Rocklands facility contains significant processing infrastructure adjacent to an existing resource base located only 50km east of Austral’s existing eastern tenement areas.

The acquisition also complements the existing Mt Kelly SX-EW operations by expanding production capacity into copper-gold sulphide mineralisation.

Austral chairman David Newling comments on the acquisition.

“The acquisition of Rocklands is not just opportunistic — it is transformational,” he said.

“It formalises the first step in our three-phase strategy to consolidate, expand and ultimately control copper production and processing across the broader North-West Queensland region.

“Rocklands gives us immediate processing scale, derisked growth optionality and is a pivotal milestone in building the next-generation copper platform.”

The acquisition opens up numerous opportunities for Astral, bringing a defined resource base with expansion potential and underground mining viability onboard.

Rockland’s integration synergies with nearby known and potential feedstock from a diversified sources of feedstock enables operational flexibility, optimised blending strategies, and enhanced metallurgical efficiencies, according to the miner.

This establishes a strong platform to execute Phase 2 (processing expansion) and Phase 3 (exploration and regional discovery) of Austral’s long-term strategy.