Canada’s Teck Resources to sell stake in Chile copper mine for $1.2 bln

Teck Resources Ltd, a Canadian metals and mining company, announced that it has complied to divest a 30 percent stake in its Quebrada Blanca copper mine expansion in northern Chile to Japanese integrated trading company Sumitomo Corp. for $1.2 billion.

Sumitomo Corp. and Japanese mineral resources mining and refining company Sumitomo Metal Mining will pay an $800 million earn-in contribution and $400 million matching contribution, below the $2 billion mark Teck had focused on to help advance the second phase of the mine.

Following the close of the transaction, Teck Resources will own 60 percent of the Quebrada Blanca project and Chilean mining sector promoter Empresa Nacional de Minería will hold the remaining 10 percent.

The extension project, known as QB2, is predicted to expand the Quebrada Blanca copper mine life by 25 years and essentially increase production to 300,000 tonnes of copper annually from 23,400 tonnes in 2017.