Lundin Mining Corporation acquires Chilean copper mine

JX will receive upfront cash consideration from Lundin Mining of $800 million, and in addition, $150 million in deferred cash consideration will be payable by Lundin Mining in installments over a six-year period following the closing date.

Lundin Mining will also have the right to acquire up to an additional 19% interest in Caserones for $350 million over a five-year period commencing on the first anniversary of the date of closing.

The transaction is expected to close in the third or fourth quarter of 2023, subject to regulatory approvals and certain other customary conditions.

Lundin Mining is a diversified Canadian base metals mining company with operations and projects in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Portugal, Sweden and the United States of America, primarily producing copper, zinc, gold and nickel.

Caserones is a significant porphyry copper-molybdenum deposit in the Atacama Region of the northern Chilean Andean Cordillera, situated between the Maricunga and El Indio belts, and is part of the emerging Vicuña copper district.

The operation produces copper and molybdenum concentrates from a traditional open pit mine and conventional sulfide flotation plant, as well as copper cathode from a dump leach, solvent extraction, and electrowinning plant.

Lundin was advised on the transaction by Chilean law firm Bofill Mir, which has been the company’s counsel for over a decade. Recent advice provided by the law firm includes regarding the development of Lundin’s Filo del Sol mining project, a copper, gold and silver deposit straddling the border between Chile and Argentina, and the development of Josemaría, a large-scale copper-gold-silver project located in Argentina, both with a total combined value of around $9 billion.

Bofill Mir Abogados also advised the company in a $1.8 billion majority stake in Chile's Candelaria copper mine in 2014.

The law firm’s team advising Lundin was led by partners Pablo Mir, Alina Bendersky and Francisco Ducci, and associates Alonso Calderón, Francisco Miranda, Juan Manuel Bengoa and Nur Khamis, of the firm’s mining and natural resources practice.

Also involved were partner Feliciano Tomarelli and associates Sebastián Fernández, Benjamín Guerrero and Ignacio Avendaño of the corporate practice, and director Cristián Franetovic and associates Juan Pablo Guzmán and Javiera Cid, of the public law and regulated markets practice, and partner Jorge Valenzuela and associate Cristian Silva of the tax practice, and partner Luis Alberto Cruchaga and associates Rafael Sandoval and Tamara Maldonado of the labor and employment practice, in addition to antitrust and litigation partner Tomás Pérez and associate Jorge Rodillo.

Scotiabank acted as financial advisor to Lundin Mining.

Lundin Mining retained Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP as Canadian legal advisors and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP as US legal advisors.

The sellers were advised by Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP as US legal advisors and Barros & Errazuriz Abogados as Chilean legal advisors.