MOSCOW – MMC Norilsk Nickel is soliciting pitches from banks to participate in an initial public offering (IPO) of its Russian copper mine, according to people familiar with the matter.
The miner has invited proposals from Russian and international banks, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. The size of the IPO stake and other details have yet to be decided.
The company continues to plan an IPO of the Bystrinsky mine in 2020 and will update investors on the plan at the end of this year, Nornickel’s press service said by email.
The Bystrinsky mine, 300 km from the border with China, started operations at the end of 2017 after a $1.5-billion investment by Nornickel. The company owns 50% plus one share of the mine and the rest is controlled by private investors, including Nornickel CEO Vladimir Potanin and China’s Highland Fund.
The mine is expected to produce as much as 46 000 t of copper and 212 000 oz of gold this year.
Potanin said in an interview with Kommersant newspaper last year that the Bystrinsky mine could be listed in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Moscow or London.
If the IPO goes ahead, it would be the first by a Russian metals company since 2017, when En+ Group International listed shares in London. En+, formerly controlled by billionaire Oleg Deripaska, was under US sanctions from April 2018 to January.