Speaking on the sidelines of the World Copper Conference held this week in Santiago, chief executive Iván Arriagada said the company will only go ahead with the project if it meets Antofagasta’s return criteria.
If rubber-stamped by the senate, the move would give state-run KGHM a bit more room to breathe, as the miner has been struggling with rising costs, falling copper prices, technical problems and higher-than-expected capital spending in the past years.
The Canadian gold producer churned out 45,098 ounces of gold in the first three months of 2019, flat quarter-on-quarter, but 34% lower than in the same period a year earlier.
The rare earths miner said its board had concluded it would not engage with retail and industrial conglomerate Wesfarmers, stating its unsolicited takeover offer undervalues Lynas' intellectual property.
The company, which in March more than doubled the size of the vanadium property, believes that Carlin’s maiden resource will provide a base for an economic study.