Austral Resources (ASX: AR1) has invested in a new agglomeration drum at its Mt Kelly copper plant, underpinning its plans for long-term copper production in North West Queensland.

The drum arrived on site and will be installed over coming days at the Mt Kelly Copper Processing Facility, the cornerstone of Austral’s Western Operations.

The plant sits north-west of Mount Isa in the North West Queensland copper province, where Austral is currently manufacturing around 13,000t/year metal plate.

Main image: New agglomeration drum delivered to Austral’s Mt Kelly Copper Processing Facility

The renewed Austral board approved the equipment in late 2025, investing ahead of need rather than waiting for critical gear to wear out.

Related: Austral to fast-track Mt Kelly copper output after $52m Glencore exit deal 

The existing drum has processed more than 22 million tonnes of ore and helped produce more than 155,000 tonnes of LME Grade A copper cathode.

Its replacement would keep Mt Kelly producing copper oxide for decades, the company said.

The drum is a critical part of the heap leach process.

Operational reset

Austral Resources chief operating officer Shane O’Connell said the operational reset had been about rebuilding for decades of reliable production.

“Our operational reset has never been about achieving short-term production milestones. It has been about rebuilding Austral with the infrastructure required to support decades of reliable copper production.”

“The Board’s decision to approve this investment early demonstrates confidence in the future of Mt Kelly and our Western Operations. 

“Together, Mt Kelly and Rocklands position Austral to unlock value from its existing assets while supporting the long-term development of the North West Queensland copper province.”

Mt Kelly remained the region’s only solvent-extraction and electrowinning (SX-EW) copper cathode facility.

It complemented Austral’s sulphide processing capability being developed at Rocklands outside Cloncurry which is the hub of the company’s Eastern Operations.

Together, the two hubs could produce both LME Grade A cathode and high-quality sulphide concentrates, which the company called an unmatched regional platform.

Austral said it was positioning to become the natural consolidator of copper assets across the North West Queensland copper province.