The Aeris Resources Ltd (ASX: AIS) share price is rocketing higher today, up by 16.67% in afternoon trade.
At the current 24.5 cents, Aeris Resources shares are now trading at 8-year highs. In fact, you'd need to dig back to April 2013 to find the ASX resource explorer trading above today's levels.
Below we take a look at the series of announcements made today, which appear to be driving investor interest.
What's driving the Aeris Resources share price?
Aeris Resources shares are soaring after emerging from a brief pause in trading pending a raft of market announcements.
Among those announcements, the company reported on the life-of-mine extension projects at its 100% owned Tritton copper operations in New South Wales.
The projects are slated to kick off in the 2022 financial year. Aeris will spend $50 million over the year to develop 3 new production sources.
Additonally, the company announced a $15 million exploration program for Tritton. It noted "there's more copper to be found" at the site.
Commenting on the plan, Aeris' executive chairman Andre Labuschagne said:
Apart from the Tritton and Murrawombie underground mines, we have an extensive pipeline of advanced projects, which we are now able to invest in to extend the mine life.
FY22 will see us develop three new production sources and undertake in-fill resource drilling programs on a further three projects, including the high grade Constellation and Kurrajong deposits.
The Aeris Resources share price has also received a lift as copper prices have been trending higher over the past year.
"The fundamentals for copper into the coming years look very positive as the decarbonisation of the world accelerates," Labuschagne said. He added that Aeris is in a good position to "leverage value from the looming copper supply deficit".
In a separate announcement, Aeris updated the market on exploration activities at the Constellation deposit, located within the Tritton tenement.
Commenting on the reverse circulation (RC) drilling results to date, Labuschagne said:
The supergene mineralisation, in particular, is showing very high copper grades. The relative proximity of this mineralisation to the surface means it can be accessed early on in any future development of the Constellation deposit.
Increased gold estimates
The company also reported an increase in its ore reserves and mineral resources at its 100% owned Cracow gold operations in Queensland. This news could also be impacting the Aeris Resources share price. The company said the increase was due to multiple life extension projects carried out at the site.
It reported its 2-year gold production guidance as 67,000–71,000 ounces in FY22 and 60,000-65,000 ounces in FY23. Aeris upgraded its exploration budget over its first 2 years of ownership of the mine to $19 million, up from $13 million.
According to Labuschagne:
As a result of the extensive geological re-interpretation work undertaken in FY21, we remain convinced that the Cracow tenement package remains highly prospective for discovery of more gold.
Aeris Resources share price snapshot
Over the past 12 months Aeris Resources shares have soared a stunning 512%. This compares to a gain of 28% posted by the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO).
Year-to-date the Aeris Resources share price has continued to outperform, up 120% in 2021.
