Auric Mining has secured $17 million in firm commitments through a two-tranche placement at 18.5 cents per share, drawing strong interest from Australian and international institutions to fund acquisitions and fast-track exploration across its Western Australian gold portfolio.
The company said the cash injection would boost its total war chest to almost $50 million, directed primarily at growing Auric’s resource base and advancing its hub-and-spoke strategy centred on the proposed Burbanks processing facility near Coolgardie.
Funds will support the purchase and launch of drilling at the new Iron Maiden project, five kilometres south of Norseman and 180km south of Burbanks. Although Iron Maiden has seen little exploration in the past 20 years, it has a combined historical 2012 resource estimate for the Iron Duke and Surprise deposits of 1.4 million tonnes at 1.5 grams per tonne gold for 68,500 ounces. The Norseman district is emerging once more as an active exploration and production centre; nearby, Pantoro Gold holds a significant 4.6-million-ounce resource and targets annual production between 90,000 and 105,000 ounces.
The new funds will also back drilling at the recently acquired Union Jack project, east of Coolgardie and just 15km from the proposed Burbanks hub. Auric is progressively de-risking its flagship Munda gold mine with grade-control and growth drilling. The Munda starter pit campaign produced 8886 ounces of gold, exceeding modelling predictions by 46 per cent. Auric delivered record revenue of $44.8 million and a net profit after tax of $19.3 million for the half-year to June 2026.
Managing director Mark English said: “This strongly supported placement allows us to consolidate two new projects, further increasing our global resource base. With additional funds, we will accelerate drilling activities across our expanded project portfolio targeting near term resource expansion.”
The lion’s share of the fresh funding, however, will be funnelled towards relocating a purchased infrastructure package to Burbanks, expected to be delivered in December. Auric picked up the 180,000-tonne-per-annum Burbanks plant in late 2024 for $4.4 million, with plans to refurbish it as a centralised processing hub drawing ore from satellite deposits including Munda. It has since consolidated plans to lift throughput to 600,000 tonnes per annum, and two months ago acquired a package of plant infrastructure for $1.2 million. Management said buying equivalent new equipment could have cost between $15 million and $25 million.
The placement will occur in two tranches. The first will raise an estimated $8.7 million using the company’s existing placement capacity, with settlement scheduled for mid-November. The second, estimated at $8.3 million, is subject to shareholder approval at a meeting slated for mid-December. Directors have committed to subscribe for $120,000 in the placement. Auric also intends to launch a Share Purchase Plan for up to a further $3 million from eligible existing holders at the same issue price.
Today’s early trading reached a high of 20.5 cents per share, an 11 per cent hike on the placement price.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- Auric’s capital raise funds a clear hub-and-spoke strategy that could transform it from a single-mine producer to a multi-asset gold miner with its own processing facility, lowering costs.
- The Norseman district's renewed exploration activity, anchored by Pantoro’s large resource, suggests rising regional prospectivity that Auric’s Iron Maiden project may capitalise on.
- The low-cost acquisition of second-hand plant infrastructure at a fraction of new-equipment cost gives Auric a significant capital advantage in building the Burbanks hub.
Background
Auric Mining is an ASX-listed gold producer that began with the Munda open pit near Coolgardie, Western Australia. Its starter pit campaign there was highly successful, producing almost 9000 ounces and beating model predictions by 46 per cent. The company aims to become a standalone gold producer as quickly as possible, centred on the Burbanks processing facility it acquired in late 2024 and plans to expand.
Key Perspectives
Mark English, Auric Mining managing director: said the strongly supported placement allows the company to consolidate two new projects and accelerate drilling targeting near-term resource expansion.
The market: early trading at 20.5 cents per share, 11 per cent above the placement price, indicated the raise was well received by investors.
What to Watch
- Shareholder approval for the second tranche of the placement at the mid-December meeting.
- The delivery and installation of the infrastructure package for the Burbanks plant, expected in December.
- Drill results from the Iron Maiden, Union Jack and Munda projects, which will determine whether resource growth translates into mine feed for the Burbanks hub.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 12 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedAuric secured $17 million in firm commitments through a two-tranche placement at 18.5 cents per share.The Age - Latest News: “Auric Mining has secured $17 million in firm commitments through a strongly supported placement to accelerate its ambitious growth strategy across its Western Australian gold portfolio. The two-tranche placement, set at 18.5 cents per share”
- SupportedThe placement drew interest from Australian and international institutions.The Age - Latest News: “has generated keen interest from new and existing Australian and international institutions”
- SupportedThe placement proceeds will support growth across Auric’s Western Australian gold portfolio.The Age - Latest News: “to fund acquisitions and fast-track exploration”
- SupportedThe cash injection would lift Auric’s total war chest to almost $50 million.The Age - Latest News: “The company says once the dust settles, the cash injection will boost its total war chest to almost $50 million”
- SupportedFunds will support the purchase of Iron Maiden and the launch of drilling there.The Age - Latest News: “funds will support the purchase and launch of drilling at the company’s new Iron Maiden project”
- SupportedIron Maiden’s historical 2012 estimate for the Iron Duke and Surprise deposits is 1.4 million tonnes at 1.5 grams per tonne gold for 68,500 ounces.The Age - Latest News: “it has a combined historical 2012 resource estimate for the Iron Duke and Surprise deposits of 1.4 million tonnes at 1.5 grams per tonne (g/t) gold for 68,500 ounces.”
- SupportedThe Munda starter pit campaign produced 8,886 ounces of gold and exceeded modelling predictions by 46 per cent.The Age - Latest News: “The Munda starter pit campaign was highly successful, producing 8886 ounces of gold and exceeding modelling predictions by a massive 46 per cent.”
- SupportedAuric reported record half-year revenue of $44.8 million and net profit after tax of $19.3 million for the half-year to June 2026.The Age - Latest News: “It delivered record revenue of $44.8 million and a net profit after tax of $19.3 million for the half-year to June 2026.”
- SupportedManaging director Mark English said the placement would consolidate two new projects and accelerate drilling across the expanded portfolio.The Age - Latest News: “This strongly supported placement allows us to consolidate two new projects, further increasing our global resource base. With additional funds, we will accelerate drilling activities across our expanded project portfolio targeting near term resource expansion.”
- SupportedAuric bought the 180,000-tonne-per-annum Burbanks plant in late 2024 for $4.4 million.The Age - Latest News: “The company first picked up the 180,000-tonne-per-annum (tpa) Burbanks plant, 20km south of Coolgardie, in late 2024 for just $4.4 million”
- SupportedThe first placement tranche is estimated at $8.7 million, with settlement scheduled for mid-November; the second is estimated at $8.3 million and subject to shareholder approval at a meeting slated for mid-December.The Age - Latest News: “The first tranche will raise an estimated $8.7 million using the company’s existing placement capacity, with settlement scheduled for mid-November. The second tranche, estimated at $8.3 million, is subject to shareholder approval at a meeting slated for mid-December.”
- SupportedAuric intends to launch a Share Purchase Plan for up to a further $3 million at the same issue price.The Age - Latest News: “Auric intends to launch a Share Purchase Plan, or “SPP”, for up to a further A$3 million from eligible existing holders at the same A$0.185 issue price.”