Aureka moves towards Victorian gold production with Fiddlers Creek deal - Australian Mining

AI desk brief

Aureka is moving into gold production in Victoria via an $8.9m acquisition of High Grade Holdings, owner of the operating Fiddlers Creek underground mine and Wedderburn gold mill. The deal gives Aureka immediate production and processing capability, with consideration split between $2.5m cash, $6.4m in shares and about $500k of rehabilitation bond reimbursement, plus up to $2m in milestone-based earnouts over three years.

The Wedderburn mill is one of only six gold processing mills in Victoria and has capacity of about 42,000 tonnes per annum; it is already treating ore from Fiddlers Creek and can toll-treat third-party material. Fiddlers Creek restarted in 2025 and averaged 7g/t head grade during its FY26 ramp-up, delivering 416oz of gold over the 12 months to 30 June 2026, though Aureka notes those figures are unaudited and not guidance. The broader pro forma portfolio would hold about 455,000oz of inferred gold resource at 2.27g/t, including 398,000oz at Irvine.

Funding is being raised via a $5.65m two-tranche placement at $0.12/share, backed by major holders, plus a proposed share purchase plan for up to $1.5m. The key near-term catalysts are shareholder approval, completion of the acquisition, and the required 1,800m drilling campaign across the acquired tenements, which could begin to clarify the resource base and the scale of potential production beyond Fiddlers Creek.