The sale of the Neves-Corvo mine, operated by Somincor, could be one of the deals of the year. Deadline for submitting offers ends on Wednesday.
Lundin Mining put Somincor up for sale, company that operates the Neves-Corvo mine, and wait for offers until this Wednesday, ECO found out from sources who know the dossier. The proceeds from this operation — which is being conducted by the Banque de Montréal and are expected to arouse the interest of several candidates — will serve to finance the exploration of other investments by the Canadian company in Argentina and Chile for copper production.
The sale of Somincor, to come true, It could even be one of the businesses of the year in Portugal. Last June, a Bloomberg revealed that Lundin Mining would be evaluating the sale of two assets in Europe, one of which is the Neves-Corvo mine and the other a mine in Sweden. Jack Lundin, son of the company founder, Lukas Henrik Lundin (who died in 2022), assured the agency that the company did not need to sell assets to finance investments in Argentina and Chile, in copper mines, but another source familiar with the process assured ECO that the Neves-Corvo sale process is indeed in the proposal submission phase. Until now, it was not possible to obtain any clarification from Lunding Mine regarding this deal.
About two years ago, Lundin Mining would be evaluating the sale of the exploration in Portugal, news that was advanced, to data, by Bloomberg. Neves-Corvo is the largest mine in Portugal, produces copper and zinc and will have an operational result of the order of 100 million. In August 2022, a Bloomberg anticipated a reference value of around one billion euros for the sale of Somincor.
The Neves-Corvo mine has five large deposits in production (Neves, Corvo, Grace, Zambujal and Lombador). And 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. But, according to Bloomberg, Somincor produced around 109 tons of zinc and 34 tons of copper in 2023
“The Neves-Corvo mine is concessioned to Somincor, what, since November 2006, is a subsidiary of Lundin Mining. Somincor was founded in 24 July 1980 after being discovered, in 1977, a sulfide deposit containing significant amounts of base metals, predominantly copper, tin and zinc. Neves-Corvo is an underground mine where there are five massive sulphide deposits: Neves, Corvo, Grace, Zambujal and Lombador“, reads on the company website.
In 2022 Somincor's turnover showed a drop compared to the previous year, to 411 million, and the profits will have been on the order of 13 million.
News: Lidador News/ Eco.sapo
