Kores follows Cobre Panama divestment plans with sale of Santo Domingo copper mine stake

South Korea’s state raw materials investment company, Korea Resources (Kores), is preparing to sell its stake in Capstone’s Santo Domingo copper mining project, sources with knowledge of the matter told Fastmarkets.

Kores has appointed Citigroup to lead the sale, which comes at the same time that the company is preparing to divest its stake and offtake rights in Cobre Panama, the world’s newest greenfield copper mine.

Citi declined to comment when contacted by Fastmarkets. Kores and Capstone did not respond to requests for comment.

Santo Domingo - which has a $1.51 billion valuation, according to 70% owners Capstone Mining Corp - is a copper-iron project located in Chile’s Antofagasta region. Capstone paid C$725 million ($755 million) to acquire Santo Domingo owner Far West Mining in 2011, with Kores acquiring a 30% interest for C$210 million.

In that year, the London Metal Exchange cash copper price averaged $8,810 per tonne compared with an average price of $6,163 per tonne in January-June this year.

Still, with spot copper concentrates treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) in decline, most recently at $52.40 per tonne / 5.24 cents per lb, major miners are on the hunt for well-priced projects with the aim of cranking up production by the time the market hits deficit levels.

Fastmarkets analysts forecast a refined copper deficit of 308,000 tonnes in 2020, up from a 185,000 tonne deficit in 2019.

“There’s more M&A activity to happen in the industry, especially for copper,” one informed source said.

Santo Domingo is expected to be ready for construction in 2020 and will produce 60,500 tonnes per year of copper in its 18 year life, according to the Capstone website.

Capstone announced last November that it was beginning a strategic process for the project, exploring “several alternatives, including selling a portion of the project,” adding that it was committed to advancing the project.

What to read next
The publication of Fastmarkets’ manganese ore seaborne indices for Friday March 31 was delayed due to inputting errors in the data submission process.
As of May 1, 2023, Fastmarkets will improve the foreign exchange (FX) spot rates published on the Fastmarkets Dashboard and in the Scrap Settlement PDF.
European energy analysts’ “what if” questions have turned into “what now” questions in the wake of Russia’s stalled war efforts against Ukraine
Despite the metal being classed as “strategic” in the European Union’s proposed Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), questions remain about the future of magnesium supply in Europe, market participants have told Fastmarkets
The publication of Fastmarkets’ assessment of the Southeast Asia copper premium for Tuesday March 28 was delayed due to a scheduling error.
Recycling is increasingly being considered the best way to reduce carbon emissions from metals production, and huge investment in recycling facilities has been seen in recent years, with robust merger and acquisitions activity
We use cookies to provide a personalized site experience.
By continuing to use & browse the site you agree to our Privacy Policy.
Proceed