The analysts at Shaw and Partners have issued a new research note on Austral following the deal's announcement and set a very bullish price target for the company, which I'll get to shortly.

First, let's look at the deal.

Building a regional copper resource

Austral will issue Hammer shareholders 1.29 Austral shares for each Hammer share held, valuing the shares at about 8 cents each.

Hammer shareholders will also retain shares in a new company to be spun out, which will hold Hammer's Western Australian gold assets.

The deal is being recommended by the Hammer board and major shareholders, who own about 16% of the company.

Austral Chair David Newling said regarding the transaction:

The execution of the Scheme Implementation Deed marks an important step in Austral Resources' strategy to build a leading Queensland copper company. Hammer's resource base and exploration portfolio are highly complementary to Austral Resource's existing operations, infrastructure and development plans. The combination creates a stronger regional platform, with the potential to unlock significant value through greater scale, infrastructure utilisation and future resource development. Importantly, the transaction delivers a substantial premium for Hammer shareholders while allowing them to retain meaningful exposure to the future growth of the combined business.

This ASX mining stock has some serious upside

Shaw and Partners said in a note to their clients that the deal provided another potential source of ore for Austral's Rocklands processing hub.

They added:

Key to the acquisition is Hammer's 39.2mt Kalman copper resource that provides a future feed source for Rocklands. By combining Kalman with Rocklands' existing 3mtpa processing infrastructure, Austral can extend and improve utilisation of its processing platform while building greater scale across its northwest Queensland copper business.

Shaw and Partners said beyond the Kalman resource, "the acquisition expands Austral's regional resource scale, widens its prospective exploration footprint, and maximizes long-term capacity utilisation across the Rocklands processing infrastructure''.

Austral also announced in early August that the Queensland Critical Minerals Fund had invested $15 million in the company through a non-dilutive royalty financing arrangement.

That funding is to support a stage 2 expansion of the Rocklands processing facility, and would initially fund a scoping study.

Shaw and Partners has a price target of 28 cents on Austral, compared to the current price of 6.5 cents.

The company is valued at $188.5 million.

The post This ASX mining stock could jump in value by more than 300%: Broker appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The team at Shaw and Partners has examined the company's latest announcement and has reiterated a bullish share price for the company, which I'll get to later.

First, let's look at what the company announced this week.

Major progress

Austral said in a statement to the ASX that the refurbishment plans at its Rocklands processing facility in Queensland were progressing on schedule and on budget.

The company said it had "focused on a disciplined and technically driven restart strategy for its Eastern operations'', which included bringing in consultants who were able to simplify the processing flowsheet.

As the company said:

That work quickly identified a simplified and conventional processing pathway centred around the replacement of the existing three-stage cone crushing circuit with a single SAG mill and pebble crusher configuration. The redesigned circuit reflects Austral's strategic focus on the efficient production of high grade copper concentrate and removes complexity associated with the previous flowsheet that contemplated secondary product streams, including magnetite, pyrite and native copper recovery.

Austral said it had now purchased an as-new SAG mill for Rocklands, which was expected to be delivered to site by late July.

The company said:

Securing a suitable SAG mill early in the refurbishment process removes one of the most significant schedule risks associated with concentrator restart projects and provides confidence in the Company's targeted commissioning timeline.

Austral is targeting the processing of three million tonnes of ore per year through the newly refurbished processing facilities, starting in mid 2027.

The company has already started mining at its Western operations, with the majority of that oxide ore to be processed through the company's Mt Kelly facility.

Austral Resources Chief Operating Officer Shane O'Connell said:

The Rocklands refurbishment continues to progress on schedule and on budget, with key milestones already achieved, including the completion of the front-end circuit redesign, acquisition of the SAG mill and commencement of detailed engineering activities. Our focus has been on developing a simpler, lower-risk and capital-efficient processing circuit that maximises copper concentrate production while leveraging the substantial infrastructure already in place at Rocklands. With engineering progressing, major equipment secured and site works planned to commence in Q3 2026, we remain confident in delivering the Rocklands restart on time and on budget.

Shares looking cheap

Shaw and Partners said in their note to clients that Austral was well-placed.

With Rocklands on track for a mid-2027 restart, Lady Loretta finalised, $83m in net cash and copper at all-time highs, Austral Resources is building one of Australia's most compelling copper growth stories.

Shaw and Partners has a price target of 42 cents on Austral shares compared to 8.8 cents currently. The company is valued at $214.6 million.

The post This ASX copper company could surge more than 300%: broker appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The team at Shaw and Partners had a look at the drilling results announced this week and has maintained their buy recommendation and a very bullish share price, which we'll get to later.

First, let's look at what was announced earlier this week by the company.

Exceptional copper grades

Austral said the first drill hole at Snow Queen hit 10m of copper mineralisation at a grade of 7.52% from a depth of 35m, including 4m at 15.9%.

The Snow Queen prospect is also only 60km from the company's Rockland processing facility, the company said.

Austral Chief Operating Officer Shane O'Connell said regarding the result:

This result is a clear demonstration of Austral's ability to generate and drill high-quality copper targets within our tenure. Snow Queen sits within a broader portfolio of satellite opportunities that underpin our strategy of building regional scale around the Rocklands Processing Facility. As an established copper producer, Austral is focused not only on discovery but on converting these opportunities into mineable inventory that can be efficiently integrated into our existing production and processing infrastructure. This producer mindset ensures that exploration success is aligned with practical development pathways and near-term value realisation.

Mr O'Connell said the company saw significant value in testing these targets, "with the aim of identifying additional sources of copper mineralisation that could complement and sustain our current operations''.

Australia said Snow Queen was just one of 35 historical copper workings it was aiming to drill test over the next 12 to 18 months.  

Shares looking cheap

The analyst team at Shaw and Partners said the Snow Queen result was an encouraging start to a broader regional exploration program.

They said regarding the Snow Queen result:

This is genuinely high grade in a global context where there have been no major, tier one, copper discoveries in the past decade. Although just one hole, the result validates the targeting model and gives AR1 good reason to continue drilling. A follow-up hole has already been completed with assays pending in the next 2-4 weeks.

The Shaw team said the infrastructure pathway to production would be straightforward given the prospect's proximity to production facilities.

The Shaw team added:

Austral Resources is building one of Australia's most compelling copper growth stories against a backdrop of strong copper demand and increasingly tight supply.

Shaw has a price target of 42 cents for Austral shares, compared with 9.8 cents currently.

Austral is currently valued at $227.1 million.

The post One broker is tipping this ASX copper explorer to jump more than 300% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

That's because analysts at Bell Potter believe it could more than double in value over the next 12 months.

Which ASX copper share?

The share that Bell Potter is bullish on is Austral Resources Australia Ltd (ASX: AR1).

It is a Queensland based copper production and development company with assets centred around the Mt Isa and Cloncurry regions.

Bell Potter believes there is a lot to like about this ASX copper share. It said:

AR1's primary asset is the operating Mt Kelly Heap Leach facility and Solvent-Extraction-Electro-Winning (SX-EW) plant for oxide ore processing, with nameplate capacity of 30ktpa copper. The recently acquired Rocklands Project, with its 3.0Mtpa processing plant, is the subject of a refurbishment and optimisation program, targeting production in CY27.

These assets will underpin two strategic processing hubs, with ore to be sourced from multiple historic producing mines, several expansion / restart projects and numerous exploration targets and mineralised prospects across a tenement package covering ~2,200km2 of Australia's most active copper exploration and production province.

In addition, the broker highlights that Austral Resources is close to completing a major recapitalisation, which will leave it well-placed for the future. It adds:

AR1 is nearing the completion of a comprehensive recapitalisation process which will leave it with ~$103m cash, no corporate debt and a strategic asset base targeting 50ktpa of copper production.

Big potential returns

According to the note, Bell Potter has initiated coverage on the ASX copper share with a speculative buy rating and 17 cents price target.

Based on its current share price of 6.9 cents, this implies potential upside of almost 150% over the next 12 months.

Commenting on its initiation, the broker said:

AR1 has the objective of leveraging its strategic asset base to target sustainable production of 50ktpa of copper metal over 20 years. It is implementing a unique dual processing strategy over a large-scale regional footprint to unlock the value in its own asset portfolio and otherwise stranded third party projects.

AR1's refreshed management team and Board has a strong track record of operational management. It presents as one of just a handful of pure copper exposure companies on the ASX and is positioned for a period of aggressive production growth over the next three years. We initiate coverage with a Valuation of $0.17/sh and Speculative Buy recommendation.

The post Guess which ASX copper share could surge almost 150% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

So where do they get this confidence from?

Company reset succeeds

Austral has been pretty active of late, releasing its full-year profit report, but also acquiring a copper deposit outright from Glencore and raising a tranche of money, which will leave the company debt-free and cashed up to focus on production.

So let's go through these in sequence.

Firstly, the company announced last week that it had made a net profit for the year of $11.9 million, up from a loss of $22.6 million the previous year.

Australia chair David Newling said it was a turning point for the company.

These results are the outcome of a long period of hard work and perseverance by the company's employees, contractors and stakeholders. Following the re-quotation of the company's securities on the ASX in early November 2025, it is extremely pleasing to report to our loyal shareholders that our revised strategy has enabled a financial reset of the company. Looking forward, and acknowledging our recent $65m placement in February 2026, the company is fully funded and ready to accelerate its production, production capability and exploration potential. Given the copper industry's positive tailwinds, we find ourselves very well positioned to achieve our vision of becoming Australia's next mid-tier copper powerhouse.

Regarding the capital raise, the company is raising $65 million at 9 cents per share, with $15 million coming from the Queensland Government's Critical Minerals and Battery Technology Fund.

The money will be used to accelerate copper production at the company's Rocklands and Mt Kelly mines, and to fund exploration at the Lady Annie pit extension.

Once the capital raise is complete, the company will be debt-free with $97 million in cash.

The company also said it was acquiring the Lady Loretta deposit from Glencore, in an announcement made in mid-February.

Shares looking cheap

Shaw and Partners has looked at this sequence of events and said in a note to clients that the ASX copper company has made the transition from a debt-laden junior mining company in a long-term suspension from trade, "to a well-capitalised producer with enormous growth potential''.  

The Shaw team added:

Austral is targeting production 50kt of copper per annum by late 2027. This will be achieved through a dual strategy focusing on resource development and exploration, particularly at Lady Loretta and Mount Clark/Flying Horse, as well as M&A and regional consolidation. Austral is positioning Rocklands as a critical regional processing hub, leveraging the fact that it is the only facility in NW QLD with excess third-party capacity.

Shaw said the company was also looking to process ore for third parties, targeting 70% of their own ore and 30% external ore, with a refurbishment of its Rocklands production facility expected to be finished by mid-2027.

Shaw has a price target of 42 cents on Austral shares, which would be a huge 356.5% return if achieved.

The post This ASX copper producer could more than quadruple in value: broker appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The Indiana Resources Ltd (ASX: IDA), Austral Resources Australia Ltd (ASX: AR1) and Musgrave Minerals Ltd (ASX: MGV) are all surging today.

Let's take a look at what these ASX mining shares reported to the market.

Indiana Resources

The Indiana Resources share price is exploding 24% today. Assay results confirmed Rare Earth Elements (REE) mineralisation at the company's Central Gawler Project in South Australia.

The results show Total Rare Earth Oxides (TREO) of up to 15,486 parts per million (ppm).

Commenting on the results, technical director Felicity Trafigura said:

The confirmation of the high TREO values including the high value magnet metals is a promising
result and shows there has been enrichment of these elements within the weathered clay profile.

We will now re-assay the balance of our extensive sample pulp inventory and work to enhance the
rare earth potential in our large project area.

Austral Resources

Austral shares are rocketing 14% today. The copper producer reported results from drilling at Flying Horse at Mt Kelly in Queensland.

Results included 14 metres at 2.23% copper, 11 metres at 2.3% copper and 19 metres at 1.69% copper.

Austral will continue to evaluate the potential of Mt Kelly copper sulphide ore for sulphide heap leach SX-EW technology. The company will also ramp up assessing the potential for commercial extraction of copper sulphide from the site.

Musgrave Minerals

Musgrave Minerals shares are lifting 8% today. The company reported results from drilling at the White Heat-Mosaic deposit in Western Australia.

Reverse circulation and diamond drilling delivered "high-grade gold assay results" at the site. The company says these results show the potential to grow the resource.

Commenting on the results, managing director Rob Waugh said:

These are another set of very strong results from White Heat-Mosaic, part of the high-grade Break of Day Trend.

It would be hard to find better results from a recent Australian exploration program and the Cue Gold Project is fast becoming one of the richest undeveloped high-grade gold deposits in Australia

The post 3 ASX mining shares soaring higher on new discoveries today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

This follows the ASX micro-cap announcing a significant copper find this morning.

The Austral Resources share price has since retraced to be up 12% at 47 cents at the time of writing.

Austral Resources is a copper producer in Queensland's Gulf Country. It's a relatively new ASX mining share having only commenced trading in November 2021.

What did Austral Resources say to boost its share price?

In its statement, the company announced assay results from a diamond drilling program at Flying Horse, which is a copper sulphide mine at Mt Kelly.

Flying Horse is situated on an existing mining lease. It contains a JORC Mineral Resource
Estimate of 14.2MT at 0.77% Cu (calculated in 2013 by the previous mine owner).

The new assay results confirmed 14 metres at 2.23% Cu, 11 metres at 2.30% Cu, and 19 metres at 1.69% Cu.

The company said it would now "accelerate determining the potential for economic extraction of copper
sulphide resource at Mt Kelly".

The company explained:

This program evaluates the suitability of Mt Kelly sulphide (chalcopyrite) mineralisation for an emerging sulphide heap leach SX-EW technology.

If the evaluation is positive, there is exciting potential for Austral to have an additional processing solution relative to conventional flotation for its sulphide resource base of 26.5Mt@ 0.8% Cu.

There was further work to do, as the company outlined:

This ongoing evaluation of Flying Horse is a further step in assessing the potential to begin commercialising Austral's 210,000t of contained copper in sulphides (26.5Mt @ 0.8% Cu) to augment the Company's current 40,000t Anthill Mine copper production from the Anthill copper oxide mine.

What else is happening with this ASX mining share?

Last week Austral Resources released its June 2022 quarterly report.

The company reported a 9.3% increase in revenue over the previous quarter to $5.16 million. It said "both revenue and production [are] on track for significant increase in the September quarter".

Austral Resources had a cash balance of $7.2 million at the end of the June quarter.

In its report, the company said: "[The] copper metal in circuit at end of July is building daily, positioning the Company for significant production and revenue increases in the second half of 2022".

The ASX mining share dipped by 4.65% on the day the report was released.

Last month we reported that Austral Resources executive director Daniel Jauncey invested almost $1 million of his own money buying more than 1.6 million extra shares. He already owned 10 million shares prior to the purchase.

Austral Resources is not the only small miner announcing big news in the copper space.

My colleague Monica reported on another ASX mining share shooting the lights out after another copper discovery yesterday.

The Cobre Ltd (ASX: CBE) share price rose 144% on the news yesterday after coming out of a trading halt.

The post Another ASX mining share is soaring 40% on a new copper find today, here's the lowdown appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Copper explorers in the red today include Sandfire Resources Ltd (ASX: SFR), OZ Minerals Ltd (ASX: OZL) and Austral Resources Australia Ltd (ASX: AR1). Hot Chili Ltd (ASX: HCH) shares and Copper Mountain Mining Corporation (ASX: C6C) are also lower today.

So what is going on with these ASX copper shares?

Copper prices slide

The Sandfire share price has shed 5.42% while Oz Minerals shares have slid 2.58%. Meanwhile, the Austral share price has fallen 7.37%, Hot Chili shares have lost 6.33%, and Copper Mountain is down 6.92%.

Copper prices fell to a 19-month low amid recession fears, Bloomberg reported.

Copper closed at US$7,670 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange. However, during the day, the copper price shed 5.1% to US$7,597 a tonne, its lowest point since December 2020.

Global recession concerns are "continuing to predominate on the metals markets", Commerzbank AG analyst Carsten Fritsch told Bloomberg. He added:

Sentiment in US industry is becoming more gloomy, in other words; we interpret this as a sign that the US economy is losing momentum

Commenting on base metal prices, ANZ senior economist Catherine Birch said copper "led the sector lower". In an ANZ Research report, she added:

Sentiment was further hit following the new outbreak of COVID-19 cases in Shanghai.

Meanwhile, one broker has upgraded the OZ Minerals share price from hold to add, as my Foolish colleague Brendon reported this morning. The broker thinks the company's shares are "far too oversold".

The post ASX copper shares in the red as copper price sinks to 19 month low appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

In a statement to the ASX this week, Austral Resources Australia Ltd (ASX: AR1) revealed that executive director Daniel Jauncey has spent $848,774 purchasing 1,615,066 shares in the micro-cap copper miner.

The significant thing here is that it was an on-market trade. Not an exercise of options. Or a rights issue. Nor director's remuneration (where the issuing of new shares forms part of a director's salary package). It was just Jauncey spending his own money to invest in this young ASX mining share.

Jauncey purchased the shares in a series of trades between 8 June and 10 June. The Austral Resources share price moved between 54 cents and 56 cents over these three days.

Jauncey directly held 10 million shares in Austral Resources prior to the trades. So, his recent purchases represent a 16% increase in his investment.

What does a major purchase by an ASX insider signal?

Well, ask yourself, how much confidence would you need to feel in an ASX share in order to put almost $1 million of your hard-earned money into it?

In most cases, when a company insider makes a large on-market purchase, it usually means management is feeling very confident and optimistic about the future of the company.

What is Austral Resources?

Austral Resources is a copper producer in Queensland's Gulf Country. It's a relatively new ASX mining share, having commenced trading on the exchange in November 2021.

Its initial public offering (IPO) price was 20 cents. Today, it's trading at 43 cents, down 7.6% for the day so far but up 165% year to date.

The company owns the Lady Annie copper mine, which produces LME quality copper cathode. It's also just finished developing a new mine at Mt Isa.

Austral Resources also lays claim to "1,340 km2 of highly prospective exploration tenements", some with advanced exploration status.

What's the latest news from this ASX mining share?

This week Austral announced its first production of copper cathode from its new Anthill mine in Mt Isa.

This follows an intensive eight-month site development that turned a paddock into an open-cut mine.

The company said this first production "paves the way for Austral to meet its stated objective of producing copper cathode at a rate of 10,000 tonnes per annum from mid-2022".

Approximately 354,000 tonnes of copper oxide ore were mined in this first production. It represents more than 4,000 tonnes of contained copper.

Austral CEO Steve Tambanis said it was a huge milestone:

The most important aspect is that the operation is de-risked and comfortably ramping-up to design capacity of 10,000tpa cathode. With that comes increased sales revenue and cashflow.

Our exploration and development activities are being scaled up to discover and deliver new copper ore.

The post Guess which ASX insider just bought almost $1 million of his company's shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

This comes as the company requested that its shares be placed in a trading halt.

At the time of writing, the copper producer's shares are frozen at 36 cents apiece.

Austral issued with speeding ticket

During early afternoon trade, management requested the Austral share price be halted while it prepares an announcement.

According to the release, the company is planning to make an announcement in relation to a response to an ASX price and volume query.

Austral shares climbed 5.88% throughout the day before stock exchange operator ASX Ltd (ASX: ASX) issued a speeding ticket.

The rise came despite the broader ASX market recording heavy falls after investors expressed their fears regarding the current economic outlook.

It's worth noting that Austral shares have accelerated by 71% over the past week. The volume traded has also been relatively high, with between 3 and 4 million shares transacted daily. This compares to an average day of around 500,000 shares exchanging hands.

Austral has requested that the trading halt remains in place until Monday 23 May or following the release of the announcement, whichever comes first.

Austral share price summary

It has been a solid 12 months for the Austral share price, rocketing by 80% following strong copper prices.

When looking at year to date, its shares have advanced to record a gain of almost 120%.

Based on valuation grounds, Austral commands a market capitalisation of roughly $74.79 million.

The post Why did this ASX copper share just pop then stop? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The copper producer's stock hit the ASX for the first time at midday today. Sadly, it promptly dropped 15%.

At the time of writing, the Austral Resources share price is 17 cents, 3 cents a share down from its prospectus' offer price of 20 cents.

The dip follows not only the company's float but also media speculation that Austral is soon to be hit with legal action.

Let's take a closer look at Austral Resources' dramatic first day on the ASX.

Austral share price starts out in the red

The Austral Resources share price is tumbling out of the gates amid media reports Austral's former 51%-owner, Nathan Tinkler, plans to sue the company and its executive director.

Austral Resources responded to the speculation from an unnamed media source 2 hours before its IPO.

The company has confirmed claims Tinkler has threatened legal action against it and its executive director Dan Jauncey.

However, Austral Resources said neither it nor Jauncey has received "substantive documentation or information" on Tinkler's claims. Additionally, the company believes Tinkler doesn't have a feasible case against either party.

The company hasn't disclosed which media outlet its response is aimed at. However, The Australian carried reports of Tinkler's legal threat yesterday.

According to the publication, Tinkler sold his stake in Austral to Jauncey when copper prices dropped amid the global pandemic. He is now reportedly planning to sue for "shareholder oppression".   

Whether Tinkler's potential legal bid is weighing on the Austral share price is impossible to say.

Today's float represents the end of an oversubscribed $30 million IPO process that, at its offer price of 20 cents, left the company valued at $89 million.

The funds raised will be put towards Austral's new Anthill Mine and its Mt Kelly processing plant. It will also help fund exploration activities and pay off debt.

Austral expects to be producing 10,000 tonnes of copper anode each year from the middle of 2022.

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