Australian miners collaborate to identify Chilean copper opportunities
Australian miners Freehill Mining and Austral Gold have signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at fast-tracking Freehill's move into copper.
Freehill will work with Austral to identify new opportunities with a focus on copper, with Freehill already being optioned in two copper projects in Chile.
Austral has producing mine operations in northern Chile and Argentina, which offers significant expertise and capability to assist Freehill in expanding its project pipeline and derisking potential development pathways to accelerate project advancement.
The parties plan to negotiate a formal cooperation agreement, including definitive agreements for specific projects that are identified.
Freehill MD and CEO Paul Davies says the agreement between the companies is a positive step in Freehill's strategy to expand into copper with an established South American mining and exploration company with deep expertise.
"Austral’s technical capability complements our project generation and funding capabilities, as well as our own network which has excellent in-country connections. Working together on the first two projects optioned gives Freehill the opportunity to unlock value for shareholders by having a dedicated team focused on copper/gold projects.
"At the same time, we continue to scale up our aggregates business, which is delivering steady growth and an increasing revenue stream. We see lots of opportunities for consolidation in this sector and we are well-placed to capitalise," Davies explains.
Freehill chairperson Ben Jarvis, who is also a nonexecutive director of Austral, says Freehill's objective is to grow a portfolio of copper projects in Chile with a focus on low capital expenditure and fast startup.
"Austral's exploration and mining capabilities added to our team gives greater momentum to this strategy which is now evolving. I have worked with the Austral team for a number of years and have every confidence in their expertise," Jarvis states.
