PanAust Could be Top Copper Producer

Reuters reported that Australian miner PanAust Ltd (ASX:PNA) said its acquisition of an exploration project in Papua New Guinea from Glencore Xstrata could transform it into one of the world’s top independent copper producers.

As quoted in the market news:

PanAust last week agreed to buy 80 percent of the Frieda River copper project in Papua New Guinea from Glencore Xstrata for $125 million.

It expects to spend between $1.5 billion and $1.8 billion to develop a mine initially producing only 100,000 tonnes of copper annually — mid-sized by sector rankings.

If PanAust reaches the scales envisioned by Xstrata, it would out-produce many of the world’s biggest mines, including BHP Billiton’s Olympic Dam lode in Australia.

Click here for the full Reuters story