Cobar Optimisation Milestone

The week beginning 16 January 2026 saw the successful removal of key infrastructure from the Dargues Mine as part of its ongoing rehabilitation, while simultaneously supporting the expansion of the Peak processing plant.

The primary ball mill, wet plant electrical switch room and plant control room were all removed from Dargues for relocation to Peak.

The relocation marks a major milestone in the Cobar optimisation strategy, through the delivery of key equipment for the Peak Tertiary Ball Mill Project and the Tailings and Process Water Management Upgrade Project. These projects are critical building blocks for the throughput expansion of the Peak processing plant to 1.1–1.2Mtpa.

The switch room will be placed directly into its final position at the Peak plant. It will provide power to both the new tailings thickener and the relocated ball mill. The ball mill will be stored at Peak and installed once the mill plinth has been cast and fully cured.

A substantial portion of the Dargues plant has now been removed through a combination of sales and relocation to Peak. This includes the primary ball mill, wet plant switch room, control room, concentrate filter, concentrate thickener, tailings thickener, cleaner flotation circuit and a range of smaller plant items. Together, these works represent a major step forward in rehabilitation while maximising the value of existing assets.

Chief Development and Technical Officer, Andrew Graham said the achievement highlights the strength of the planning and execution, underpinned by a strong focus on safety.

“Rehabilitating the Dargues site, while efficiently repurposing critical infrastructure to support Peak’s future growth as part of our Cobar optimisation strategy, highlights the value-focused thinking, collaboration and execution that has become synonymous with Aurelia’s development planning,” Andrew said.

“I want to thank our Dargues site team and contracting partners for their focused work to deliver incident-free deconstruction of the processing infrastructure from our Dargues Mine to date,” Andrew concluded.