Freehill Mining (ASX:FHS) signed a strategic memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Austral Gold (ASX:AGD) to cooperate on the identification, evaluation, acquisition, exploration and development of mining projects in Chile, with an emphasis on copper and copper-gold systems, according to a Thursday Australian bourse filing.

The company said Austral Gold brings recognized technical, operational, and regulatory capability to Freehill's project pipeline, de-risking and speeding up evaluation and potential development pathways while accelerating Freehill's strategic push into copper alongside the growth of its aggregates business.

The MOU is currently non-binding, with the parties to negotiate a formal cooperation agreement, and intend to negotiate definitive agreements for specific projects upon successful due diligence and negotiations, it added.

Freehill Mining's shares rose 100% in recent Thursday trade.