Lundin increases participation in Caserones copper mine in US$350mn deal

Canada's Lundin Mining closed a US$350mn deal with Japan's JX Advanced Metals to acquire an additional 19% of Minera Lumina Copper Chile, increasing its participation in the Caserones copper-molybdenum mine to 70%.

The transaction had been planned since last year, when Lundin completed the acquisition of 51% of Caserones, located in Atacama region, for US$950mn.

The deal is considered key to strengthening the company's copper portfolio that includes Candelaria in Chile and Josemaría in Argentina's San Juan province.

JX Nippon Mining & Metals subsidiary Lumina now owns 30% of Caserones, while Lundin will obtain an additional 25,000t/y of attributable copper output. Lundin's total production in Chile represents close to 5% of national output, according to a corporate presentation.

Lumina and Lundin have been working on productivity improvements and cost reductions since they created their alliance last year to achieve “more efficient business operations,” JX Nippon said in a statement.

This year, Lundin plans to produce 120,000-130,000t of copper and 2,500-3,000t of molybdenum at Caserones. Copper output is expected to increase to 125,000-135,000t/y over the next two years.

Lundin earmarked US$205mn for new water management systems, mining equipment, maintenance and other expenses at Caserones for this year.

The company is confident in the mine's growth potential, given the existence of unexplored areas in the vicinity of the deposit that is located in the emerging Vicuña mining district, which hosts other copper projects like Los Helados and Filo del Sol.