Mt Cuthbert Copper Project
Key Highlights
Established resource base
The Project contains 246,000t of copper in Mineral Resources, all situated on 100% owned and granted Mining Leases.Existing infrastructure
The Project includes a 64-person mining camp with kitchen and dining, full site offices and workshops, and an 8,000tpa copper SXEW processing plant on care and maintenance.
Advanced exploration prospectivity
2,400km2 of mining and exploration leases with 15 high-priority drill ready prospects, and historically underexplored for sulphide mineralisation.
Mt Cuthbert Copper Project
Overview
The Mt Cuthbert Copper Project is located in the Mt Isa – Cloncurry region of northwest Queensland, one of Australia’s most important copper-producing districts. AIC Mines acquired a 100% interest in the Project through its acquisition of Materra Metals Limited, which completed on 11 November 2026.
The Project hosts Mineral Resources of 18.7Mt grading 1.3% Cu for 246,000t of contained copper across five deposits. All five deposits sit on granted Mining Leases and all remain open along strike and at depth. Approximately 73% of the contained copper is in sulphide material.
Mt Cuthbert has a long mining history, most recently as a heap leach solvent extraction and electrowinning (SXEW) operation treating near-surface copper oxide material. Drilling has historically focused on that oxide material, and the underlying copper sulphide mineralisation remains largely untested at depth. AIC Mines’ focus is on this sulphide potential. The Company believes Mt Cuthbert has the potential to support a standalone operation producing both copper concentrate and copper cathode, becoming a second flagship asset alongside Eloise–Jericho1.
1. This statement represents an aspirational target and is subject to the results of resource drilling and the outcome of technical and economic evaluation.
Location and Infrastructure
The Project is located approximately 100 kilometres northwest of Cloncurry and 160 kilometres northwest of the Eloise copper mine. It covers approximately 2,400km² across 21 Mining Leases and 33 Exploration Permits for Minerals.
As a brownfields site, Mt Cuthbert has established infrastructure that supports a fast start to drilling and a more straightforward path to recommencing operations, including:
- 8,000tpa nameplate SXEW processing plant (currently on care and maintenance)
- 64-room camp with kitchen and dining facilities
- Site offices and workshops
The Project’s proximity to Eloise, and its similar geology and expected mining and processing methods, provide exploration, operational and administrative synergies. AIC Mines’ experience in permitting, exploration, underground mining and project development at Eloise–Jericho is directly applicable.
History
Ernest Henry discovered copper near Mount Cuthbert in 1867. By 1907 the Mount Cuthbert Company was operating mines at Mount Cuthbert, Kalkadoon, Mighty Atom, Orphan and Little Wonder. In 1917 it built a copper smelter, which operated until the copper price fell in 1920. At its peak, the Mount Cuthbert township supported two hotels, a hospital and two railway stations.
Since the mid-1990s the Project has been held by Murchison United, Matrix Metals, Cape Lambert Resources, Malaco Mining and, most recently, Dragon Field International through privately owned Materra Metals. Over this period, it was developed as a heap leach SXEW operation, with oxide and transitional ore mined from open pits at Mt Cuthbert, Kalkadoon, Mt Watson, Orphan and Dobbyn. In 2020, sulphide ore from Crusader was trucked to the Ernest Henry Mine for toll treatment, which provided useful operating data on sulphide recoveries. The Project was placed on care and maintenance in 2022.
Mineral Resources
| Resource Category | Tonnes | Cu Grade (%) | Contained Copper (t) |
|---|
Mineralisation Style
Sulphide 74%
Oxide 26%
Contained copper by deposit (kt)
Mineral Resources as at 1 May 2026. Reported using cut-offs that vary by material type and mining method: 0.30–0.65% Cu for open pit and 1.40% Cu for underground. Totals may not add due to rounding. For more information, see ASX announcement “Transformational Copper Project Acquisition” dated 23 September, available here.
Development Pathway
AIC Mines is currently considering a dedicated standalone sulphide processing facility (crush-grind-float) at Mt Cuthbert.
Funded by a $70 million placement to cornerstone shareholder Hawke’s Point, a two-year program will start after the 2026–27 northwest Queensland wet season, comprising:
- Approximately 60,000 metres of resource definition diamond drilling at Mt Cuthbert–Kalkadoon, Crusader and Mt Watson
- At least 6,000 metres of exploration diamond drilling, supported by geophysics
- Environmental baseline studies to define and fast-track the Project’s approvals pathway
The program follows the approach taken at Jericho. There, AIC Mines increased Mineral Resources by more than 240% after acquisition and sold first copper in April 2026.
Exploration
Mt Cuthbert covers the northern extensions of three highly endowed geological domains of the Mt Isa Inlier and hosts more than 50 known prospects. AIC Mines has identified approximately 15 priority prospects with potential to host copper sulphide mineralisation beneath mined and unmined oxide mineralisation, including Orphan, Dobbyn and Mighty Atom. More detail can be found here.
Exploration
AIC Mines acquired Materra Metals for $120 million, comprising $100 million in AIC Mines shares and $20 million in cash. The cash component and the two-year program are funded by the $70 million Hawke’s Point placement, approved by shareholders on 4 November 2026.
Further information regarding the acquisition and transaction can be found in ASC announcement “Transformational Copper Project Acquisition” dated 23 September 2026, found here.
