AIC Mines Limited (ASX: A1M), an Australian growth-focused resources company building a portfolio of copper and gold assets through exploration, development, and acquisition, has announced a significant acquisition poised to materially transform its scale and production profile. The company, which owns the high-grade Eloise copper mine in North Queensland, has entered into binding agreements to acquire a 100% interest in Materra Metals Limited, owner of the Mt Cuthbert Copper Project, for $120 million. This consideration comprises $100 million in new fully paid AIC Mines ordinary shares and $20 million in cash, acquired from Dragon Field International Limited and other Materra shareholders.
Concurrently, AIC Mines has secured a $70 million placement with existing major shareholder Hawke’s Point Resource Finance and its affiliates. Hawke’s Point will subscribe for new fully paid ordinary shares at an issue price of $0.795 per share, matching the company’s last closing price on 21 September 2026. The funds from this placement are earmarked to finance the cash component of the acquisition consideration and to accelerate exploration, resource drilling, and development studies at the newly acquired Mt Cuthbert Project.
The Mt Cuthbert Copper Project is an advanced copper asset situated in the Mt Isa – Cloncurry region of northwest Queensland, approximately 150 kilometres northwest of AIC Mines’ existing Eloise Copper Mine. The project boasts Mineral Resources totalling 18.7 million tonnes grading 1.3% copper for 246,000 tonnes of contained copper, across five deposits located on granted Mining Leases, all of which remain open along strike and at depth. The extensive 2,400 square kilometre tenement package also presents substantial exploration upside, with fifteen priority drill-ready prospects identified beyond the current resource base.
Mt Cuthbert, a historic mining centre, includes an 8,000 tonnes per annum solvent extraction and electrowinning (SXEW) processing facility currently under care and maintenance, alongside established site infrastructure. The project, which last operated from 2014 to 2022, has seen minimal exploration since the early 2000s, particularly for deeper copper sulphide mineralisation. AIC Mines believes Mt Cuthbert holds the potential to support a standalone operation, producing both copper concentrate and copper cathode, focusing on the copper sulphide potential to become a second flagship asset for the company.
