Glencore has entered into a binding offtake and prepayment agreement with Austral Resources to acquire up to 40,000 tonnes of copper cathode from the Anthill mine in Queensland.
Austral exposed first copper ore at Anthill in late January, allowing the resource to be stockpiled more than a month ahead of schedule.
Mining commenced at the project on January 7 and surpassed 70,000 tonnes per day of overburden mining one week later, also ahead of schedule.
The Mt Kelly processing plant is now 70 per cent refurbished and the circuit is expected to be commissioned in February.
The 10,000-tonne-per-annum project is expected to commence copper production by mid-2022 across an initial four-year period.
As part of the agreement, Glencore will also provide Austral with a $21 million prepayment facility, enabling Austral to accelerate exploration and development activities throughout 2022. Ensuing exploration will be internally funded from Austral’s Anthill cashflow.
“We are delighted to have Glencore marketing 40,000 tonnes of Austral’s Anthill copper production,” Austral chief executive officer Steve Tambanis said.
“Together with this offtake agreement, a $21 million prepayment facility enables us to accelerate our planned exploration program and, importantly, provides a solid financial buffer for Anthill’s start-up phase over the next five months.”
Tambanis said Glencore’s decision wasn’t made lightly, with the major miner judiciously assessing the Anthill operation before making a commitment.
“Glencore underwent a lengthy due diligence process to assess our production capabilities and is pleased with the high quality of Austral’s copper cathode,” he said.
“Going forward, there is potential to review other copper development opportunities in the region.”
Glencore copper marketing representative David Kelly says Austral’s product is going to be an important commodity going forward.
“Glencore welcomes the opportunity to support Australian miners like Austral Resources by marketing their copper products to customers all over the world, where it will be used to make everything from smart phones to solar panels,” he said.