AIC Mines
AIC Mines is a copper producer that owns the high-grade underground Eloise Copper Mine in north-west Queensland.
- Public company
- Subiaco, WA, AUAustralia
AIC Mines is a copper producer that owns the high-grade underground Eloise Copper Mine in north-west Queensland.
What could change its growth trajectory, and what would confirm it?
AIC Mines' growth is contracted and dated rather than aspirational: an expansion to 1.1 million tonnes per annum is well underway under a fixed-cost engineering, procurement, and construction contract with GR Engineering Services valued at A$77.6 million, with commissioning targeted for the December 2026 quarter.
The Jericho Copper Project holds stated mineral resources of 444,900 tonnes of copper at 2.0% and 125,900 ounces of gold at 0.7 grams per tonne. The deposit will be mined by longhole open stoping, and all ore will be processed through the Eloise processing facility 4 kilometres to the north.
Which risks could break the thesis, and what would warn of them?
The core risk in AIC Mines' position is arithmetic: the Eloise copper mine holds stated ore reserves of 65,600t of copper at 2.1% and 57,700oz of gold at 0.6g/t, giving it a finite runway where the pace of draw-down is the number to watch.
The Eloise copper mine is operating, and the Jericho Copper Project is in development.
What does the product do for its buyer, and how is it delivered?
AIC Mines produces copper from the Eloise mine, a single underground operation in North Queensland reached through decline access rather than a surface pit, located 60 kilometres SE of Cloncurry and 155 kilometres ESE of Mt Isa.
Ore from the mine is processed through a conventional crush-grind-float circuit, achieving copper recoveries of 94–95%. The plant currently treats 725,000 tonnes per annum.