The company operates the Tritton copper mine in New South Wales.

Tritton produced 23,404 tonnes of copper, in line with revised guidance of 23,000-24,000t.

However, the mine produced 30,425t of copper in the 2016 financial year after three record years of production.

Original guidance for the 2017 financial year was 28,000t, which was revised down twice after operational challenges.

The company experienced delays to the start of stoping at the new Murrawombie underground mine in the December quarter.

March quarter production was then impacted by lower tonnes and grade due to the backlog of unfilled stope voids, as well as lower tonnes from Murrawombie while the mining method was being changed.

Copper production for the June quarter was 5952 tonnes, higher than the 5048t produced in the March quarter.

“The 2017 financial year has been a challenging one for the company and we are pleased to have been able to finish the year on a positive note with stronger copper production in the fourth quarter,” Aeris executive chairman Andre Labuschagne said.

Commissioning of Murrawombie was completed in the June quarter, while an 880m-deep ventilation shaft to enable mining at Tritton Deeps will be commissioned in the current quarter.

Labuschagne said the achievements would help set Tritton up for the coming years.

“For FY18, the Tritton copper operation is targeting copper production of 27,000t,” he said.

A surface electromagnetic geophysical survey is underway at the project, as part of a A$7.5 million exploration program.

 

Shares in Aeris were untraded at 4.1c.