Aeris Resources delivered FY26 production within guidance while building a much larger investment program around Tritton, including the Constellation and Mallee Bull developments. The company enters FY27 with no debt, $202 million in cash and receivables, and a sharper test of whether higher spending can convert expanded resources into longer mine life and production.
- 42.1kt copper equivalent production achieved within FY26 guidance
- $290 million EBITDA and $202 million in cash and receivables
- Tritton Ore Reserves quadrupled to 10Mt containing 180kt of copper
- FY27 growth and project capital rises to $170 million-$210 million
- Constellation targeted for production in FY27, with Mallee Bull expected in FY30
FY26 delivery gives Aeris room to spend
Aeris Resources Limited (ASX:AIS) is taking a stronger balance sheet into a substantially more capital-intensive year. The copper and gold producer says it achieved 42.1kt of copper equivalent production in FY26, within guidance, while producing 23kt of copper and 49koz of gold. EBITDA reached $290 million, up 81% year on year, and cash and receivables stood at $202 million at 30 June 2026, with the corporate overview showing $165 million of cash and no debt.
That financial position underpins a FY27 plan that asks shareholders to accept materially higher investment. Growth and project capital is guided at $170 million to $210 million, compared with $102 million in FY26, while exploration spending is expected to rise to $29 million-$35 million from $17 million. The company has not presented this as a production surge: copper guidance is 22kt-27kt, gold is 42koz-51koz and copper equivalent output is 37kt-46kt.
Tritton becomes the centre of the growth case
The main destination for that capital is Tritton in New South Wales, where Aeris says Ore Reserves have increased fourfold to 10Mt containing 180kt of copper. Total Mineral Resources stand at 33Mt containing 540kt of copper. The reserve expansion includes maiden underground reserves for Constellation of 3.8Mt and Mallee Bull of 2.7Mt, alongside resource extensions at Budgerygar and Avoca Tank.
Execution now matters more than the reserve headline. Aeris plans to mine more than 1.2Mt from the Murrawombie pit in FY27, complete the pit in the second quarter and deliver first primary Constellation ore to the mill in the third quarter. Constellation carries a 5.3Mt Ore Reserve and is expected to move from two years of open-pit mining into underground operations after 12 months, with infrastructure capital estimated at about $106 million over two years.
Mallee Bull adds a longer-dated option rather than an immediate production contribution. The Peel acquisition project has a maiden 2.7Mt Ore Reserve grading 2.4% copper, with permitting and studies under way and current production expectations pointing to FY30. Aeris is still examining multiple haulage routes, leaving the project's final development configuration unresolved.
Guidance leaves several operational tests ahead
FY27 guidance is broadly stable at group level but carries a changing operating mix. Tritton is expected to produce 22kt-27kt of copper and 8koz-10koz of gold, with growth capital of $160 million-$190 million. Cracow gold production is guided at 34koz-41koz, below its FY26 output of 41koz, while sustaining capital rises to $27 million-$33 million from $17 million.
Beyond the producing mines, Aeris has set milestones for the Stockman polymetallic project and Jaguar. A Stockman feasibility update is due in the first half of FY27 for a 17Mt resource containing copper, zinc, gold and silver. Jaguar remains on care and maintenance, with exploration planned across base-metal and gold targets. The next decisive evidence will come from delivery at Constellation, the updated Tritton life-of-mine plan and whether the enlarged capital program produces more than a larger inventory of future projects.
Bottom Line?
Aeris has the balance sheet to fund its next phase, but FY27 will test whether Tritton's expanded reserves can be converted into reliable production without losing capital discipline.
Questions in the middle?
- Can Constellation deliver first primary ore to the mill in the targeted third quarter of FY27?
- How much of the expanded Tritton resource base will be converted into mineable reserves and sustained production?
- Will the $170 million-$210 million growth program generate returns ahead of the Mallee Bull and Stockman decision points?