Copper market’s biggest whale fuels speculation of a major shift
The world’s single biggest buyer of copper, State Grid Corp. of China, has slowed its purchases of copper wire this year.
Australian miner IGO Ltd said on Tuesday it discontinued negotiations with UK-based Glencore Plc to buy its CSA copper mine in New South Wales state, a week after entering exclusive discussions for the deal.
The announcement leaves U.S.-listed special purpose acquisition company Metals Acquisition Corp to be the standing contender to buy the mine, as per media reports last week.
The CSA mine is one of Australia’s highest-grade copper mines and produces about 50,000 tonnes every year, as per Glencore’s website.
Both Glencore and Metals Acquisition Corp could not be immediately reached for a comment outside of office hours.
Shares of IGO were up by 7.4% in early trade and were on track for their best day in over a year, if gains hold.
(By Indranil Sarkar; Editing by Maju Samuel and Uttaresh.V)
Comments