VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – Canadian diversified miner Teck Resources has bought out a further 13.5% minority stake in the Quebrada Blanca Phase 2 (QB2) project, in Chile, for $52.5-million in cash by acquiring private Chilean company Inversiones Mineras (IMSA), the company said on Wednesday.

The transaction lifts Teck’s ownership in subsidiary Compañía Minera Teck Quebrada Blanca (QBSA) to 90%, with Chilean State miner Enami holding the free-carried 10% balance.

The transaction simplifies the ownership and capital structure of the QB2 project and provides Teck with improved flexibility regarding financing options for the project, Teck president and CEO Don Lindsay stated.

IMSA holds 8.5% of the ordinary shares of QBSA and a 5% preferred share interest.

Under the terms of the deal, further payment of $60-million will be due on receiving definitive approval of the social- and environmental-impact assessment for the QB2 project and following the expiry of appeal rights, and a further $50-million will be payable within 30 days of declaring commercial production at QB2.

The deal is also structured to provide price upside protection for IMSA, should average copper prices exceed $3.15/lb in each of the first three years following the start of commercial production, up to a cumulative maximum of $100-million, should commercial production start before January 21, 2024, or up to a smaller maximum amount in certain circumstances thereafter, Teck said.

QBSA’s main asset is the QB2 copper development project, in Northern Chile. QB2 is in the final stages of permitting, and a project sanction decision is not expected before the second half of 2018, Teck advised.

QB2 aims to develop the hypogene resource at Quebrada Blanca, to substantially increase copper output and extend the mine’s production life by more than 25 years. QB2 is expected to produce 300 000 t/y of copper equivalent for the first five years of its mine life.

Teck had submitted the social- and environmental-impact assessment for the project in September 2016.