Copper market’s biggest whale fuels speculation of a major shift
The world’s single biggest buyer of copper, State Grid Corp. of China, has slowed its purchases of copper wire this year.
Lundin Mining has abandoned its plans to sell, saying the bids did not fully value the company, according to a story reported in Bloomberg News. The decision also means CEO Phil Wright will resign; senior vice president of corporate development Paul Conibear will serve as interim CEO until a replacement is found.
The bids “did not adequately value the company or its assets,” Lundin said in a statement. “The best way to create shareholder value is to continue to manage and develop the company’s quality assets and to actively seek growth opportunities.”
Lundin’s decision to stop entertaining bids puts a fine point on a mining story that has been in the news since January, when Lundin and Inmet Mining announced a so-called “merger of equals” to create Symterra, a $9 billion transaction that would have created a large international copper producer. The deal came unglued, however, when Equinox Minerals announced a hostile takeover bid for Lundin. Equinox later withdrew the offer and agreed to a takeover by Barrick Gold Corp. Lundin owns mines in Europe and has a 25% stake in the Tenke Fungurume copper and cobalt mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
