Ex-Barrick CEO Regent also wants a piece of Glencore Las Bambas

Buyers seem to be lining up for Glencore Xstrata’s (LON:GLEN) massive Peru copper mine. To the three major Chinese potential bidders Chinalco Mining, Hong Kong’s MMG and Jiangxi Copper – China’s largest copper producer – former Barrick Gold Corp. CEO Aaron Regent, is said to be preparing a bid for Las Bambas project.

According to Bloomberg, Regent’s investment firm Magris Resources Inc. is currently evaluating an investment for the three Las Bambas copper open pits, which will also produce significant quantities of gold, silver and molybdenum as by-product.

In total, the project is expected to produce more than 400,000 tonnes of copper a year when it goes into production towards the end of 2014.

The only reason Glencore is selling Xstrata’s Peruvian project is because it signed a deal with the Chinese regulators for approving its $76-billion merger with mining giant Xstrata.

If Glencore does not receive a binding sale and buying agreement by the end of this month, with a transfer of ownership by the end of June 2015, the firm could sell other mine sites.

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