Mantos Copper owns mines in Chile.
Canadian miner Hudbay Minerals has responded to speculation about the potential acquisition of Chilean miner Mantos Copper, stating that although it usually avoids comment on market rumours, the company’s strategy does include potential growth opportunities, such as acquisitions.
Hudbay, which owns base metals mines and projects in the Americas, said on Thursday that it had a “consistent strategy of optimising the value of its current operations and evaluating growth opportunities that were complementary to its current business”.
This could include acquisitions that fitted Hudbay’s “stringent criteria”, which ranged from early stage exploration to producing mines, provided they were accretive to shareholder value on a per share basis.
The media statement was issued in response to a report by Bloomberg News, which stated that Toronto-based Hudbay was in talks to buy Mantos for as much as C$1-billion, citing people familiar with the matter.
Mantos owns and operates two mines in northern Chile – Mantos Blancos and Mantoverde, located in the Antofagasta and Atacama regions.
Bloomberg reports that one of Hudbay’s largest shareholders, Waterton Global Resource Management, has called for a moratorium on buying any new mines and, instead, to focus on improving the performance of its existing assets.
Shares in Hudbay traded 6.08% lower at C$6.18 a share following the news report.