Austral Resources Secures Glencore Funding and Offtake Deal to Finalize Rocklands Copper Acquisition
Austral Resources and Glencore Ink $15m Deal to Advance Rocklands Copper Project in Queensland
ASX-listed Austral Resources Australia has signed binding agreements with Glencore, securing funding, offtake, and tolling arrangements that pave the way for its acquisition of the Rocklands copper project in Queensland.
The deal package includes a $15 million loan facility, a copper concentrate offtake agreement, and a tolling agreement to maximize the use of Rocklands’ processing plant.
Together, these agreements enable Austral to meet the final conditions required for its purchase of Copper Resources Australia (CRA), the current owner of Rocklands.
Austral chairperson David Newling described the agreements as a significant step forward:
“The company’s relationship with Glencore goes from strength to strength. While the offtake agreement ensures we have a ready customer for copper concentrate from Rocklands, the tolling agreement is where we see real value,” Newling said.
He noted that Rocklands is the only processing facility in the region with excess capacity available to third parties, creating an opportunity for Austral to generate earnings by processing additional ore and advancing nearby prospects such as Enterprise and Slaughterhouse Creek.
Located 17 km from Cloncurry and adjacent to Austral’s eastern tenements, Rocklands is considered a cornerstone asset in the company’s regional growth strategy.
It complements Austral’s existing Mt Kelly solvent extraction and electrowinning operations, giving the company dual processing capacity across copper oxide (Lady Annie) and copper/gold sulphides (Rocklands).
The Glencore loan is secured by a charge over all present and future property of CRA. Under the offtake agreement, Glencore has rights to purchase 100% of copper concentrate produced either from Austral’s tenements or from the Rocklands concentrator.
Meanwhile, the tolling agreement grants Glencore access to Rocklands’ processing capacity once recommissioning is completed, which is currently targeted for July 2027.
Austral confirmed that the Rocklands acquisition, first announced in July, remains on track to close by the end of September, alongside the company’s planned equity raising.
