Austral Acquires Lady Loretta Copper Mine: A Strategic Move

Austral Resources Australia (ASX:AR1) said on Friday (January 16) that it has entered into an agreement with Glencore (LSE:GLEN,OTCPL:GLCNF) for the acquisition of the Lady Loretta mining leases. Under the agreement, Austral will acquire 100 percent of Noranda Pacific, the owner and operator of the Lady Loretta mine, associated EPMs, processing infrastructure and mining camp from Glencore. “The acquisition of Lady Loretta consolidates tenure around Lady Annie and provides both short-term ore feed through the cutback and longer-term ore feed through the mineralisation extension,” said Austral Chairman David Newling. “Importantly, the transaction is structured to significantly strengthen our balance sheet while preserving substantial development upside," he added. It was also agreed upon that Austral will pay Glencore a 2.5 percent net smelter return royalty on all copper oxides and copper sulphides produced from the tenements. Lady Loretta is located approximately 150 kilometres north-west of Mount Isa and 16 kilometres north of the Lady Annie copper mine in Queensland. It has been in production since 2012, with a historical production record of 1.6 million tonnes annually. Zinc lead-ore from Lady Loretta is sent to Mount Isa for processing. “With the three key pillars of our consolidation strategy now complete, our focus turns to disciplined execution advancing near-mine opportunities at Lady Annie, progressing Rocklands toward restart in 2027, and building (including through M&A) a long-term, multi-asset copper business capability of producing around 50,000 tonnes per annum of copper metal in North-West Queensland.” Austral will assume responsibility for the operations at Lady Loretta and its progressive rehabilitation obligations. Completion of the transaction is subject to the satisfaction of various conditions. Mining at the Lady Annie cutback is scheduled to start in the second quarter of 2026. Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Australia for real-time news updates!