Expectations for a rise in zinc concentrate supplies in coming years have driven down the metal price to one-year lows, but smelting capacity constraints suggest the sell-off is premature.
Nobody who owns a copper mine wants to give it up. Even when Glencore and Anglo American Plc were crippled by debt during the 2015 commodity slump, neither was willing to entertain an offer from Rio for their holdings in the giant Collahuasi deposit in Chile.
Starting on July 30, the LME will start providing a set of synthetic monthly prices for the six main base metals — copper, aluminum, zinc, lead, nickel and tin.
The base metals producer said that, while it has not yet received a formal offer from Lundin, the bid announced Monday the bid ignores the fundamental value of the company and its assets.
A common target for the thieves is Antofagasta Plc’s logistics unit Grupo FCAB, which owns and operates about 700 kilometers of railway lines used to transport cathode and semi-processed copper.