Anglo American completes sale of Chile copper mines

Mantoverde mine, one of the two copper assets that made up the Norte division, sold for $330 million.

Anglo American (LON:AAL) announced Monday it has completed the $300 million sale of Mantoverde and Mantos Blancos copper mines in north Chile to a consortium led by UK-based investment firm Audley Capital.

The deal brings the amount of cash Anglo has raised so far this year through disposals to $1.9 billion, as it seeks to slim down against a tough backdrop in the global commodities industry as prices remain weak.

“The completed sale of Norte to the Audley consortium represents further progress with our asset disposal programme and wider strategy to reshape the Anglo American portfolio, prioritising our capital on those assets that will create the most value for our shareholders over the long term,” chief executive Mark Cutifani said in a statement.

The announcement comes after Anglo last week announced a $330m (R4.5bn) deal to sell lossmaking South African platinum mines to Sibanye Gold (NYSE:SBGL) (JSE:SGL).

Last month, Chilean media reported that Anglo American was also fine-tuning details to unload El Soldado mine and the Chagres smelter.