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The Canadian copper miner hopes to become a major copper-producing company by merging with Australian junior Altona Mining.
Copper Mountain Mining (TSX:CMMC) kicked off the week by announcing it will buy junior Altona Mining (ASX:AOH) for AU$93 million in an effort to become a major copper producer.
As part of the merger agreement, the Canadian copper miner has offered to pay AU$0.17 per Altona share, a 41.7-percent premium to the company’s closing price on Friday (November 17).
“Altona’s shareholders will receive a premium and will also gain immediate exposure to copper production just as copper prices have recovered and market shortfalls are predicted over the near term,” said Alistair Cowden, managing director of Altona.
Altona’s flagship asset, the open-pit Cloncurry project, is expected to add over 39,000 tonnes of copper and 17,000 ounces of gold to Copper Mountain’s output profile by 2020. Adding the Australian asset to its portfolio will potentially allow Copper Mountain, which owns the Copper Mountain mine in Canada, to become a multi-jurisdictional mid-tier copper producer.
“We intend to progress Cloncurry into production with the aim of doubling CMMC’s copper production profile to the range of 73,000 tonnes of copper per annum with significant precious metals credits. This additional copper production is timely to capitalize on the projected strong copper cycle,” explained Jim O’Rourke, president and CEO of Copper Mountain.
Once the companies merge, their combined proven and probable reserves will stand at 920,000 tonnes of copper. Meanwhile, their combined measured and indicated resources will be over 1.8 million tonnes of copper and their inferred resources will reach 1.5 million tonnes of copper.
The transaction has yet to receive shareholder and other regulatory approvals, but once the deal is completed, Altona will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Copper Mountain. The new combined company will also seek a listing on the ASX.
On Monday (November 20), Copper Mountain’s share price was trading down 4.35 percent in Toronto, at C$1.54. Meanwhile, Altona’s share price closed up 16.67 percent in Sydney at AU$0.14.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Priscila Barrera, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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