Australian mining company South32 and Swedish company Boliden are two of four foreign groups in the race for the Neves-Corvo mine, the largest in the country located in Alentejo.
Three Australian and one Swedish groups are in the race for Somincor, which holds the concession for the Neves-Corvo mine and is owned by the Canadians of Lundin Mining, according to information collected by ECO. On the table could be a deal valued at one billion euros.
One of the Australian groups that is in short-list of candidates to present binding proposals for the largest Portuguese mine is South32, headquartered in Perth and listed on the Australian stock exchange with a market value of around eight billion euros. Just made profits 380 million dollars, above market expectations, and CEO Graham Kerr told analysts that he has the cash to aspire to purchase more mines with the aim of increasing copper production, how do you count site specialized Mining.
South32 joins two more Australian groups whose identity was not possible to reveal and also the Swedish group Boliden, a Stockholm-based mining company specializing in the extraction and smelting of copper, zinc and with a market capitalization of 7,4 billion.
The Somincor sales process is being conducted directly from Toronto and Vancouver, pelo Bank of Montreal (BMO) and a team from Lundin Mining, which is selling the operation in Portugal and also in Sweden, with a view to investing in the South American market. Just last month, it announced a partnership with the giant BHP to move towards the purchase of Filo for around three billion dollars, the creation of a joint venture is planned to explore copper projects in Argentina.
Market sources admitted that it appears that the offers for the two mines were privileged, which is why the Portuguese company Almina was removed from the process as it presented a non-binding offer only for the Neves-Corvo mines.
In the offer delivery phase non-binding took place in recent weeks and attracted around two dozen interested parties. Non-binding proposals may have reached one billion euros (equity), according to market sources.
The process of due diligence, not just financial, but also operational. And one of the key questions is knowing the useful life span of Neves-Corvo for the extraction of copper and zinc.
Neves-Corvo has five large deposits in production (Neves, Corvo, Grace, Zambujal and Lombador). In 2023, Somincor's turnover — which does not comment on operations — showed a drop compared to the previous year, to 393 million, an operational result (EBITDA) of 83 millions and profits, falling, of about 1,5 million (13 million in 2022).
According to official company information, ore processing in Neves-Corvo is done through two washing plants. Lavaria do Cobre processes approximately per year 2,6 million tons of copper ore. The Zinc Lavaria, that processes zinc or lead ore, has the capacity to treat approximately 2,5 million tons per year.
The Portuguese Government says it is follow the process, taking into account the “social and economic relevance” of Somincor for workers, for the region and the country” and that “it will exercise its powers to guarantee full respect for the legal and labor standards in force”. But he did not fail to remember that it is “a private company, equally privately managed”.
News: Lidador News/ Eco.sapo.pt
