Hudbay sees Saudi, UAE, and Japanese interest in Copper World project

Canadian miner Hudbay Minerals (TSX, NYSE: HBM) is reportedly in talks with investors from the Middle East and Japan to sell a minority stake in its flagship Copper World project in Arizona.

Chief executive officer Peter Kukielski told Bloomberg on Thursday that he met with “a lot of the key interested parties” in Saudi Arabia in November last year.

Among the potential investors is Manara Minerals Investment Co., though the Saudi venture has not confirmed its interest.

According to Kukielski, the project has also attracted interest from Japanese trading houses and UAE investors.

The sale process is expected to conclude within six months, with Hudbay planning to sell up to 30% of the project.

By 11 a.m. ET, Hudbay Minerals’ shares had risen 0.8% to C$12.04 apiece, giving the Toronto-based company a market capitalization of C$4.75 billion ($3.31 billion).

Copper rush

US President Donald Trump’s threats to impose tariffs on foreign copper imports have incentivized domestic investment in the metal.

Last month, Trump ordered the Commerce Department to investigate US copper imports. Since then, US copper prices have surged, as traders rushed to ship more of the metal into the country ahead of potential duties.

On Thursday, copper prices in London rose as much as 0.6% to $10,046.50 per tonne, while prices on New York’s Comex traded near a record high.

Focus on Arizona

Hudbay’s proposed 85,000-tonne-per-year Copper World project in Arizona is currently fully permitted to begin construction.

In January, the miner announced that the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) had issued its air quality permit. Combined with earlier approvals for aquifer protection and land reclamation, this marked the completion of the project’s permitting process.

The company is now focusing on completing a definitive feasibility study (DFS) with an internal rate of return greater than 15%. The study is already underway and is expected to be completed in the first half of 2026.

According to Hudbay, Copper World is expected to increase its annual copper production by over 50% from current levels. The company also has copper mines in Canada and Peru.

An updated prefeasibility study for Phase I of Copper World estimates an after-tax net present value (NPV) of $1.1 billion (at an 8% discount rate) and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 19%, based on a copper price of $3.75/lb.