TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Inmet Mining has received about $500-million, after a subsidiary of Singapore's Temasek Holdings exchanged the subscription receipts it held for 7,78-million Inmet common shares.

Temasek bought the receipts in a placement that closed in April last year, but the $500-million was placed in escrow until certain conditions were met.

The new shares will increase Inmet's issued and outstanding share count to 69,3-million, and will give Temasek a stake of about 11,2% in the company.

Inmet will use the funds to help develop its Cobre Panama copper project, and for general corporate purposes, and Temasek will have the right to nominate a director for election to Inmet's board.

Besides Cobre Panama, Inmet has base-metals and gold mines in Spain, Turkey, Finland and Canada.

In January, the company agreed to merge with fellow Canadian Lundin Mining, to form a new copper producer worth some $9-billion, but the deal was broken off after Lundin became the target of an unsolicited takeover offer from Equinox Minerals.

The Cobre Panama project (previously know as the Petaquilla copper project) is expected to produce an average of 255 000 t/y of copper, 90 000 oz of gold, 1,5-million ounces of silver and 3 200 t of molybdenum over a 30-year mine life, and Inmet has said it could start production at the mine in 2015.

Inmet sold an option to buy 20% of the project to Korea-owned LS-Nikko, and is looking for additional partners to help fund the $4,3-billion project.

The company will aim to end up with a stake of between 40% and 60% in Cobre Panama, CEO Jochen Tilk said last month.
 

To subscribe to Mining Weekly's print magazine email subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za or buy now.