AIC Mines (ASX:A1M) has entered into binding agreements to acquire a 100% interest in Materra Metals, owner of the Mt Cuthbert Copper Project in northwest Queensland, for $120 million.
The consideration includes $20 million in upfront cash and $100 million in fully paid ordinary AIC Mines shares, representing 125.8 million shares issued at $0.795 per share. AIC Mines has paid a $500,000 deposit toward the cash component.
Concurrently, AIC Mines has entered into a subscription agreement with existing cornerstone shareholder Hawke’s Point Resource Finance and its affiliates to raise $70 million through a placement of 88.1 million shares at $0.795 per share.
The placement funds the cash component, transaction costs, and an accelerated two-year exploration and development program.
Managing Director Aaron Colleran says the acquisition of Mt Cuthbert is a significant step forward in fulfilling the company’s ambition to be “a multi-mine mid-tier Australian copper and gold miner”.
“We have reviewed almost all of the advanced-stage copper opportunities in the Mt Isa – Cloncurry region 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,” Colleran says.
Located 130km northwest of Cloncurry and 150km northwest of the company’s operating Eloise Copper Mine, Mt Cuthbert covers a 2,400km² tenement package, including 21 granted mining leases.
The project holds a mineral resource estimate (MRE) of 18.7 million tonnes (Mt) @ 1.3% copper (Cu) for 246,000t of contained Cu across five deposits, with sulphide material accounting for approximately 73% of the total resource.
Combined resources across all deposits comprise 7.60Mt @ 1.1% Cu for 84,200 tonnes in the indicated category and 11.07Mt @ 1.5% Cu for 161,800 tonnes in the inferred category.
Existing site infrastructure includes an 8,000 tonnes per annum nameplate capacity solvent extraction and electrowinning processing facility on care and maintenance, a 64-room camp, site offices, and workshops.
AIC Mines intends to focus on the project’s copper sulphide potential and is considering a standalone copper sulphide processing facility.
Work planned following the northwest Queensland wet season includes 60,000m of diamond drilling for resource definition across Crusader, Mt Cuthbert, and Mt Watson, at least 9,000m of regional exploration diamond drilling, and environmental baseline studies.
The acquisition and placement are subject to shareholder approval at an extraordinary general meeting scheduled for 4 November 2026, with completion expected in early that month.
AIC Mines is a growth-focused resources company that explores, develops, and operates copper and gold assets.
Write to Paula Fabe at Mining.com.au
Main image: AIC Mines
