Aureka Limited has entered into a binding share sale agreement to acquire 100% of High Grade Holdings, taking ownership of the operating underground Fiddlers Creek gold and silver mine and the Wedderburn Gold Processing Mill in Victoria.

Completion remains subject to specified conditions precedent. The base consideration is $8.9 million, comprising $2.5 million in cash and $6.4 million in Aureka shares at $0.12 each, alongside $0.5 million for rehabilitation bond reimbursements and up to $2.0 million in contingent performance payments over three years. To fund the transaction, Aureka has secured commitment letters for a two-tranche placement to raise $5.65 million, complemented by a matching share purchase plan for eligible shareholders at the same $0.12 issue price.

The acquisition shifts the company from developer to producer, adding processing infrastructure to a Victorian portfolio that includes the Irvine project, which hosts an estimated 398,000 ounces of inferred JORC mineral resources and sits 16 kilometres from the Stawell gold mine. The portfolio also incorporates the St Arnaud Comstock project, holding 56,000 ounces of inferred resources in a pit mined until 1995 and located less than 50 kilometres from the Wedderburn mill.

“The strategic fit is abundantly clear... Aureka has a large and growing Victorian gold portfolio, including the scale potential of Irvine in the multi-million-ounce Stawell Corridor and the brownfield opportunity Comstock at St Arnaud, but up to this point - we did not own a processing facility.” — James Gurry, Aureka Managing Director

The Wedderburn mill holds a licence for external tolling with stated spare capacity. Any future processing of ore from Aureka's own projects through the facility remains dependent on ongoing studies, regulatory approvals and formal development decisions.

“Overall we have agreed to acquire an operating mill with spare capacity together with the high-grade operating Fiddlers Creek Gold & Silver Underground Mine and operational team in a low cash majority scrip transaction at a compelling price - this is a transformative deal for Aureka and we could not be happier.” — James Gurry, Aureka Managing Director

Ahead of the transaction, the company reported high-grade gold and silver assay results at St Arnaud, including 4.4 metres at 8.9 grams per tonne gold and 57.8 grams per tonne silver in hole NED032, highlighting ongoing regional exploration momentum across its Victorian asset base.

Read the full announcement: Victorian Mine and Mill Acquisition - Placement and SPP