Anglo American said it has reached an agreement to sell its interest in Anglo American Norte S.A., which consists of the Mantoverde and Mantos Blancos copper mines located in northern Chile, to an investor consortium led by Audley Capital Advisors, for an up-front cash consideration of $300 million. The transaction has a total potential upside of up to $500 million with additional future payments that could amount to as much as $200 million, depending on future copper prices and future decisions regarding the sulphide life extension at the Mantoverde mine.
Working with Orion Mine Finanace, Audley was able to acquire both of these Chilean copper mines, explained John MacKenzie, CEO Mining for Audley. “I know both of these operations well and can see the scope to further enhance the business under our ownership, particularly in terms of their life extension potential to meet our expected view of constrained copper supply in the medium and longer term,” MacKenzie said. “I have a high regard for the team of people who work at these operations, and believe that Chile remains one of the most attractive destinations for mining investment.”
“The sale of our Norte copper assets to the Audley consortium represents a good outcome for Anglo American, both in terms of the up-front value achieved, the potential upside geared to the copper price and the continued delivery of our asset disposal program,” said Mark Cutifani, CEO, Anglo American. “John MacKenzie’s longstanding knowledge of these two mines and his appreciation for the operating environment in Chile stand him and the team on the ground in good stead for the future. In line with our strategic objectives, we are focusing our diversified portfolio on our largest and most value accretive assets, which include the Los Bronces and Collahuasi copper mines in Chile and the Quellaveco copper project in Peru.”
This transaction is not subject to any regulatory conditions and is expected to close in Q3 2015.
