China’s MMG among firms eyeing US$2 billion stake in Congo copper mine

MMG, the publicly traded unit of China’s biggest state-owned metals trader, is among companies in talks to buy a majority stake in Freeport-McMoRan’s copper mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo, sources said.

Freeport, the biggest publicly traded copper miner, was considering a sale of its 56 per cent stake in the Tenke Fungurume asset, which may fetch more than US$2 billion, the sources said. The mine could also attract interest from other parties including Chinese companies, such as Citic Metal, they said. The talks were ongoing, and there was no certainty an agreement would be reached, they added.

Freeport “continues to advance discussions for the sale of certain interests in its mining and oil and gas assets to accelerate its debt reduction initiatives”, the company said in an e-mailed statement, declining to comment further.

Helped by its state-owned parent China Minmetals’ access to state-backed financing, MMG acquired the Kinsevere copper project in Congo for US$1.36 billion in early 2012. It also bought the partially developed Las Bambas copper project in Peru for around US$7 billion in August 2014.

A spokeswoman for MMG declined to comment on its interest in the Freeport-McMoRan stake.