One of Austral Resources’ creditors has appointed receivers to recover a secured debt owned by the company.
The future of over 60 workers at Austral Resources Australia is in limbo as the copper producer has entered into receivership.
On May 2,
the company announced that one of its creditors, Wingate, had appointed three partners from Deloitte as receivers and managers to Austral Resources in relation to a secured debt owed to Wingate by its subsidiary Austral Operations.
Deloitte said Austral Resources would continue to operate while the receivers carry out an urgent assessment of the company’s financial position and determine the future of the business and its assets.
“We have taken control of operations and will continue to work with employees and suppliers to process ore already extracted from the mine,” receiver and Deloitte partner Jason Tracy said, as reported by ABC News.
“Alongside this, we will be exploring recapitalisation options and launching a sale campaign.”
Meanwhile, Austral Resources said the company had been negotiating with secured creditors prior to Deloitte’s notice and that it would work with the receivers and other stakeholders during the receivership.
The company also noted that it would provide updates on the development.
According to Austral Resources’ 2020 annual report (
pdf), the company entered into a debt facility with Wingate for $30 million (US$13.1 million) on Aug. 9, 2021.
Austral Resources currently has two major projects which employ around 60 workers: the Lady Annie Mine and the Anthill open-pit copper mine, plus a processing plant at Mount Kelly in Queensland.
Austral Resources made a
net profit of $9.45 million while reporting a 104 percent increase in revenue in 2023.
In the March quarter of 2024,
the company reported a total revenue of $24.5 million and a net operating cash outflow of $5.8 million.
Austral Resources’ announcement comes a month after
Abra Mining, a lead and silver producer in Western Australia, appointed administrators to help the company deal with its debts.
While Abra Mining’s administrators were confident of finding a buyer for the business, the company’s decision left the future of nearly 150 workers uncertain.
