Australian resources specialist private equity firm EMR Capital has completed the acquisition of an 80 per cent controlling stake in Zambia copper mine Lubambe from African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) and Vale International for $97.10 million.
EMR will partner with 20 per cent shareholder, ZCCM Investments Holdings, an investment company majority owned by Zambia government, a statement said on Thursday. It added that the acquisition, which was announced earlier in August, will substantially enhance EMR’s copper portfolio.
Lubambe, the mine in Zambia — the second largest copper producing nation in Africa — is an existing underground high-grade copper mine and extension area development project, with a total resource base of approximately 9.2 million tonnes of contained copper metal.
It currently produces close to 20 ktpa of copper in concentrate with EMR planning to optimize operations and ramp up annual production significantly over time.
EMR now has eight operations worldwide, including three copper mines that have potential to expand and other opportunities in the pipeline, EMR chief executive Jason Chang said.
Nick Bowen, a former Macmahon and Orica executive, has been appointed Lubambe CEO and will be based in Chingola, Zambia. His key focus will be the completion of the final feasibility study on the larger extension area orebody (resources greater than 212mt at 3.6% Cu) some 6 km to the southeast of the existing workings.
Taylor Collison acted as financial advisor for EMR while Allen & Overy acted as legal counsel and KPMG was EMR’s accounting and taxation advisor. The specialist mining private equity manager founded by Jason Chang and Owen Hegarty has linkages to Asian markets and has a focus on assets in copper, gold, potash and coking coal that it looks to acquire globally.
The mineral and natural resources investor closed its second private equity fund earlier, EMR Capital Resources Fund II, at $860 million (AU$1.12 billion) and also purchased Golden Grove, a copper zinc mine in Western Australia last year.
Source: Deal Street Asia