Aurora Metals, with mines at Chillagoe and Mt Garnet, placed into administration
Almost 200 mine workers are out of a job with a Far North Queensland mining company being placed into voluntary administration.
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Almost 200 mine workers are out of a job with a Far North Queensland mining company being placed into voluntary administration and a care and maintenance mode.
KordaMentha have been appointed as administrators of Aurora Metals, after directors had been trying unsuccessfully to sell since last November.
A company spokesman said 150 employees lost their jobs in May when the operation was placed on care and maintenance mode and there were a further 45 employees, with 10 on site.
The move is likely to hit the community of Chillagoe, 204km west of Cairns, hard, as Aurora operated a 244-man camp on the outskirts of the township.
Aurora, which has a market cap of $11.23m, operated nine projects including the Mungana Mine and Mungana Processing Plant at Chillagoe.
The operation has had a troubled history with Kagara Ltd, which had owned the mine since 2003, going into administration in 2012 with the mine being allowed to fill with water.
Auctus acquired the Mungana mine in late 2015 and focused on a new mining method, which “turned into a very expensive exercise”, the company stated on its website.
Auctus placed the Mungana mine into care and maintenance mode in March 2019, and it was subsequently acquired by Aurora as owner-operator.
Mining was expected to continue beyond 2023.
The Einasleigh project, 200km from Mt Garnet, had a permanent exploration and development camp with Aurora buying a caravan park there.
The company said substantial deposits of copper, zinc, lead, silver and minor gold were located within the project area.
Aurora went on the market in November and in mid-January, the company announced its move to sell the company had been put on hold.
“Overall, the result from the sale process was disappointing,” Managing Director Ralph De Lacey said in a statement.
“The sale process attracted the usual raft of time wasters.”
He said the sale would be revisited in six months and the company would investigate opportunities to recapitalise in 2023.
KordaMentha spokesman Richard Tucker said the firm was acting as administrator of Aurora Metals and 11 other entities within the group.
He said the group had a portfolio of zinc and copper projects and associated infrastructure in the Chillagoe and Mt Garnet regions.
The administration follows an unsuccessful initial public offering by the company in late 2022 and a 40 per cent drop in zinc prices in the past 10 months.
He said administrators would assess the best way forward to maximise value for shareholders.
“The Aurora Metals Group will undoubtedly attract interest given its portfolio of assets and the current environment where battery metals are in strong demand,” Mr Tucker said.
“The group has four underground mines.”
The news comes as nearby ASX-listed tungsten project EQ Resources completed its first blast for the restart of open pit mining operations at Mt Carbine.
Originally published as Aurora Metals, with mines at Chillagoe and Mt Garnet, placed into administration
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