Japan's JX to sell further stake in Chilean copper firm

Japanese metals producer JX Nippon Mining and Metal will sell another 19pc stake in its subsidiary SCM Minera Lumina Copper Chile to Canadian mining firm Lundin Mining, planning to complete the deal next month.

JX's decision is in line with its initial plan to sell additional stakes after the company transferred 51pc of SCM to Lundin in July 2023. SCM operates the Caserones copper mine.

The sale, of unspecified value, follows a long-term strategy focusing more on the advanced materials business including semiconductor components, according to JX. The additional stake sale will help reduce volatility risks in the resources market and accelerate investment in the lucrative chip industry, it added.

JX will continue to offtake copper produced at Caserones even after the transfer, according to a company representative that spoke to Argus. But the maximum delivery amount will be reduced to 30pc of total output that is in proportion to the remaining stake held by JX. Copper production at Caserones was 119,000t in 2023, up by 11.2pc from a year earlier.

By Yusuke Maekawa