The world’s No.1 miner had decided to offload Cerro Colorado mine in May last year, as part of chief executive Andrew Mackenzie’s bid to focus on large assets in commodities such as iron ore, copper and oil.
Africa's No.2 copper producer plans to introduce new mining duties, replace Value Added Tax with sales tax and increase royalties to help bring down mounting debt.
The Australian major has signed option and farm-in agreements for Cornerstone Capital Resources’ Miocene and Mirasol Mining's Gorbea properties, all of them in northern Chile.
Copper prices on the international market have been recovering but Mowana mine, which employs 411 workers, has failed to capitalise on the gains due to equipment breakdowns.