Mining and commodities giant Glencore (LON:GLEN) is said to be in talks with five companies to sell portions of the future production of three of its copper mines in Chile and Peru.
According to Global Mining Observer, the firms involved in the negotiations are Franco-Nevada Corp ((TSE:FNV)), Silver Wheaton (TSE, NYSE:SLW), Royal Gold Inc. (TSE:RGL) and two other unnamed miners.
The alleged deals involve Glencore’s Collahausi mine in Chile, as well as Antamina and Antapaccay copper mines in Peru.
The potential agreements, known as streaming transactions, are a kind of alternative financing in the mining industry, in which a firm such as Silver Wheaton or Franco-Nevada provides funds upfront to a miner in exchange for the sale of a fixed amount of future production at a discounted price.
Collahuasi, one of the world’s largest copper mines, produced around 470,000 tonnes of copper last year, or about 8% of Chile’s total output.
In the first half of 2015, production at the mine — a joint project of Glencore, Anglo American (LON:ANGLO) and several Japanese firms — fell 10% compared to the previous year, impacted by maintenance at a processing mill and other factors.
Antamina mine, located in Peru’s central Ancash state, is the country’s top copper producer by output, and it also yields zinc, lead, and silver.