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Minmetals puts non-core assets on the block

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Minmetals Resources has put its trading and processing assets up for sale so it can focus on the Australian mining assets it bought last year.

Minmetals had positioned itself as a multimetals miner and decided on Monday to dispose of the non-core assets, chief executive Andrew Michelmore said yesterday.

Michelmore said the company aimed to complete the sale by the end of the year, adding that the non-core assets were valued at US$800 million to US$950 million last year.

'It is too early to comment on the specifics like whether they will be sold as a bundle or piece by piece, or what way the sale will be done,' he said. 'But our target is to maximise value.'

Last year, Minmetals completed a US$1.85 billion deal with its parent, China Minmetals Nonferrous Metals (CMN), to buy a portfolio of zinc, copper, lead, silver and gold projects mostly in Australia, with some in Laos and Canada. CMN bought the assets in 2009 from Australia's OZ Minerals for US$1.4 billion.

Wang Lixin, who becomes the chairman of Minmetals on Friday, said CMN was a natural and capable potential buyer of the trading and processing assets. 'But if there is another buyer who can offer a better price, [Minmetals] will certainly adhere to its goal of maximising the assets' value,' he said.

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