Aeris Resources Ltd. said Jan. 8 that it expanded the Tritton copper mine in New South Wales, Australia, to 2,160 square kilometers after the state's Department of Planning and Environment granted exploration license EL8810.

The granted license covers an area of 296 square kilometers, located adjacent to the northwest corner of the current Tritton tenement package.

Exploration activities within the newly acquired tenement will be conducted within the year, initially focusing on historical data compilation and geological mapping.

The copper miner's Executive Chairman Andre Labuschagne believes that Aeris is finally in the position to successfully hunt majors' noncore copper assets, to better compete as a midtier producer.