Anglo American sells off a chunk of Chilean assets

10th Nov 2011 07:57

Mining colossus Anglo-American has sold off a large minority stake in its Chilean copper business for a reported $5.39bn to Japanese trading house Mitsubishi Corporation. Mitsubishi has acquired 24.5% of Anglo American Sur (AAS), hitherto a wholly owned subsidiary of Anglo American. AAS is a Chilean copper mining and smelting company, holding a significant portfolio of copper assets in Chile, including the Los Bronces mine, the El Soldado mine, the Chagres smelter and large-scale prospective exploration properties. AAS currently produces around 260,000 tonnes of copper per annum and the figure will rise to about 440,000 tonnes in 2012, after the completion of the Los Bronces expansion project.--jh