ASX-listed Austral Resources Australia has executed binding agreements with Glencore covering funding, offtake and tolling arrangements, securing the final pieces needed to complete its acquisition of the Rocklands copper project in Queensland.

The package includes a $15-million loan facility, a copper concentrate offtake agreement and a tolling agreement designed to ensure full usage of Rocklands’ processing plant. Together, the agreements will enable Austral to satisfy remaining conditions precedent for the acquisition of Copper Resources Australia (CRA), the owner of Rocklands.

“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 the Rocklands facility, the tolling agreement is where we see real value for the company,” said Austral chairperson David Newling.

“While Rocklands is not the only processing facility in the region, it is the only facility with excess capacity that can be utilised by third parties. We intend to utilise this capacity and the subsequent earnings to advance our own prospects in the region like Enterprise and Slaughterhouse Creek.”

Situated 17 km from Cloncurry and near Austral’s eastern tenements, Rocklands is viewed as a cornerstone asset in the company’s regional consolidation and growth strategy. The project complements Austral’s existing Mt Kelly solvent extraction and electrowinning operations, giving the company a dual processing capability across copper oxide at Lady Annie and copper/gold sulphides at Rocklands.

The Glencore loan is secured by a charge over all present and future property of CRA. The offtake agreement gives Glencore rights to purchase 100% of copper concentrate from Austral’s tenements or from the Rocklands concentrator.

Meanwhile, the tolling agreement provides Glencore with access to Rocklands’ processing capacity once the facility is recommissioned, currently anticipated for July 2027.

Austral said the Rocklands transaction, first announced in July, remains on track to close by the end of September, in tandem with its planned equity raising.