Anglo American and Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile (Codelco) recently agreed to form a new partnership in respect of certain of Anglo American’s copper interests in Chile, namely Anglo American Sur. Anglo and Codelco, with assistance from their respective partners, Mitsubishi Corp. and Mitsui & Co. and within the conciliation proceeding provided for by the 14th Civil Court of Santiago, have settled their respective claims in relation to the AA Sur option agreement as a result of extensive discussion and the conclusion that all parties have acted in good faith and without wrongdoing in connection with the settled claims.
Anglo American retains control of AA Sur, reducing its 75.5% shareholding to 50.1%. A Codelco and Mitsui joint venture company controlled by Codelco will acquire a 29.5% interest in AA Sur for $2.8 billion.
“Today’s commercial agreement demonstrates Anglo American’s and Codelco’s focus on our future and potential as partners in the best interests of both companies, while we have both gained significant value for our shareholders and other stakeholders, and recognize Mitsubishi’s contribution to facilitating today’s agreement,” said Cynthia Carroll, Chief Executive of Anglo American. “The combination of Anglo American, Codelco, Mitsubishi and Mitsui forms a compelling proposition for future investment in the Los Bronces district – one of the world’s most exciting producing and prospective copper ore bodies – for the benefit of all our respective shareholders.”
“I am very pleased that an agreement has been reached that fulfills our expectations in terms of value creation for Codelco, reinforces Codelco’s standing as the main copper producer in the world and which sets the ground for an innovative partnership with Anglo American in AA Sur,” said Thomas Keller, CEO of Codelco. “We can now look forward to working together to build further on the value that both companies have gained through today’s agreement.”
Completion of the transactions is subject to the injunction being lifted by the 14th Civil Court of Santiago for which the appropriate filings have been made.
